Blake picked Vona up and put the bird on her shoulder. It looked a little comical with how large the macaw was. But the bird looked content so Weiss couldn't make fun of it too much. It was definitely a strange image someone lording a bird around on their shoulder like that. "All right; let's go." Blake smiled and Weiss gave a small nod.

They headed to a room not too far away and Blake opened the door. It was empty and barren for all but the basics.

Aside from the bookshelves.

Empty but an entire wall sat covered with bookshelves, floor to ceiling. It wasn't the full library Weiss had hoped for, but it was more than enough space for a while. She really could build her own collection here… There was room for several hundred, if not a thousand or more books. It was a sight to behold that she never would have thought hers before.

"Do you like it?" She looked over at Blake whose eyes danced in amusement.

"I… Yes." She bit back a retort. That sort of behavior would only receive swift punishment. She should know better by now. President Jacques had shown her better than to be snippy with those above her. This was fae land, so Blake was higher than her. Loathe as she was to admit that about a Faunus.

One of Blake's ears twitched but she said nothing. "This will be your room. Feel free to do what you want with it. If you want to change anything about it, let me or my parents know and we'll happily help you." Change the room…? Why would she do that? They were (supposedly) giving her a lot of why would she personalise a room? It was merely a place one stayed. There was nothing special about bedrooms…

"So, this is my little nices?" The voice came from the bed and both girls looked over. A young woman with light blue eyes and a mid-toned grey hair sat there. She had her legs crossed at the knees, top leg bouncing a bit. Niece…? What was she talking about? Her features were shockingly Schnee-like… NOt quite a match but very, very similar. She didn't hold herself like a Schnee though… Definitely of high breeding but not quite on the same par as a Schnee…

"Yes, this is Schnee." Blake knew her name now thanks to Winter. Why wasn't she using it? Yes, she'd said something about it, but she really didn't understand. There hadn't been enough time to ask about it during dinner. She only had so much time before they had to finish up…

"Hello, ma'am." Weiss offered a polite curtsy, not too sure what else to do. The woman quirked an eyebrow.

"Is that how humans greet each other? It's going to take some time to adapt to that…" The woman sighed and twined her hair around her finger. "Oh well. Come over here. I need to make a copy of your memories for my own use. I won't be able to function without them."

"What?! You want to do what?" She stared at the woman, eyes wide. She couldn't do something like that, right?! Memories were hardcoded into the brain. They weren't like computer files! Even if they could do that, nobody could take hers! They were private! They were hers and hers alone!

"While I understand your concerns, my magic strengths lie in the brain. I'm studying to be a specialist in the field, so memory spells are a breeze for me." She smiled, light blue eyes dancing. Memory spells? The brain? Why was she studying that? She really didn't want to hand her memories over to some random person even if it was possible.

"Do you want to stay here or go back to being betrothed?" That was enough to disquiet Weiss fully. She didn't want that… She didn't know Gisbert well, but he seemed every bit a typical Atlassian man. Nothing would stop him from harming her especially on their wedding night. She shuddered at the mere thought. She really couldn't handle the idea of being so man's baby factory.

"All right. What do I need to do…?" Her voice shook and she approached, trembling a bit. Either prospect felt overwhelming, but she'd rather not go back to abuse and torment. Then again, what was to say the same thing wouldn't or couldn't happen here? She didn't know these people. They had kidnapped her. It seemed pleasant now, but she knew how quickly things could change in an instant. President Jacques could shift his mood as easily as the winds.

"Nothing really. Let me put my hand on your head for a few minutes. I might be Misum, but I don't want to harm all humans. Especially my own blood." She smiled and her tone was almost sickly sweet. A threat definitely lurked behind that. She did did not want to trip the threat if at all possible.

Weiss sat on the bed and the woman (hadn't Blake said the name Auria?) put a hand on her head. A few minutes passed and she removed it, though she made a face. "What a miserable life. I definitely won't put up with that charade of meekness." Charade? Miserable life? It was all Weiss had known. Was it really so bad? She knew married life was miserable. She'd seen how girls broke within a few months of even being betrothed at times. But the rest of it…

Weiss blinked when she suddenly stared at a mirror of herself. "Wha—?" When and how had that happened? It was so perfect… It was even down to the smallest of imperfections on her face. The dress hadn't changed and the dark purple didn't look great on her. But it really was like looking in a living mirror.

"It's called a glamor. Fae can shift their forms and look like whoever we want to. The only thing we can't glamor over is our eyes." Blake spoke this time and Weiss caught one of her ears twitching.

"I can't say the height loss is fun. But I should be able to get used to everything quickly enough… The fact we're related does make this a lot easier, though." Auria looked over herself, almost as if inspecting a snatched body. Creepy, but it did make sense. Aurai had to be at least six inches taller than Weiss' 5'1" height. Maybe five. But she was a lot taller, so she could imagine losing that much height was obnoxious.

"Well, how about you go down to the tailors? They'll give you the dress she was in." Blake smiled.

"I'll talk to you later, Blake." She held up her hand and wiggled her fingers before leaving the room.

Weiss sighed and flopped back on the bed. What a mess she'd landed in. All of this was going over her head too… So much new information to absorb and to try to come to terms with. She had two new cultures to try to learn about too… What an absolutely overwhelming turn of events.

"Would you like me to leave you alone for a while or do you want me to stay with you?" Blake spoke, making Weiss crane her head up to look at her. That…was a good question. She was so overwhelmed and needed time to process things, but Blake was a surprisingly gentle presence. Well, aside from the initial meeting… She hadn't acted harsh since that…

"Alone is probably best for now…" She wanted some room to think and simply decompress after all of this. It was so much to take in.

"By the way, before I go, if you'd like to spend the night with me in my room, you're free to. I understand needing space, but at the same time, being in a new environment is hard. I'm here for you in whatever capacity you need." Blake offered a smile. Right. Like she was going to rely on anybody other than her sister. That was just begging for trouble. She'd seen what happened to people that relied on others.

With that, Blake left and the room fell silent. But it was a different sort of silence than Schnee manor. The silence there felt like breaking it would result in punishment. It was thin ice. The maids spoke in hushed tones, afraid to run into the president. Fear permeated each moment, silver filaments easily snapped that meant anger and reproach.

Here, she could hear the sounds of nature come through the windows. She got up and went to the window seat, then opened the window. A warm breeze ruffled her hair in almost a laughing greeting.

A strange warmth seemed to permeate the whole manor. The breeze kissed her face in a way she could never have imagined happening. The servants had actually had smiles on their faces, true smiles. Not the forced ones of Schnee manor. None had ducked way from Blake wlike they did with the Schnee family.

Why did this place feel so inherently different? It was both subtle yet palpable… What separated the two manors so distinctly? She really didn't understand.

However, she screamed as a massive brown bird swooped down and landed on a perch jutting out from beneath the window. It was massive! She jumped away from beneath the window seat, panting and arms wrapped around herself. What was that thing doing here? Did the…Blake's family keep them or something?! With how many birds Blake had, she wouldn't doubt it.

The massive bird turned its head side to side a few times. "What's wrong? Why are you so ad?" The voice was soft, light, and feminine. It wasn't aggressive, simply curious and concerned. Genuinely concerned. It reminded her of how Winter talked to her after an especially hard day.

It didn't take but a moment for a person to float up from the bottom of the window. "Kori, how many times do I hate to tell you not to go flying off like that?! And you scared somebody!" the woman chided. The bird let out a few chirps before the woman turned to face Weiss.

"I"m sorry about her. Like most— Wait, you're a human!" The woman's eyes winded and Weiss took another half step back. Who was this woman and why was she flying? She didn't see any Faunus features on her—definitely not wings. She'd be able to see them flapping! This was so strange. But she had amber eyes so she was a Sylph…

Oh right.

Hadn't Blake had wings of some sort back in Atlas?

"Uh, yeah. Blake brought me here a while ago…" What else was she supposed to say? This was all so overwhelming. People were absolutely terrifying. Part of her did want to go back to Atlas since it was what she knew. She didn't have giant brown birds nearly flying through her window or people flying in general!

"Oh, wow—no wonder Blake wasn't at dinner! Anyway, sorry about her… Like most awakened animals, she absorbed part of my personality and that was my concern for others. With the sadness you're radiating, she was drawn in." One brief pause before she spoke again. "Would you like to watch Kori fly?"

Weiss tilted her head at that. Fly? What did that mean? Why would she want to watch a bird perform a basic motor function? It really didn't make any sense. "I guess?" No need to be rude about it, though… She really wanted her room to decompress but this woman was so in her face… It felt like it'd be easier to agree then she'd leave.

The woman landed three stories below then called the bird down to a glove on her arm. The bird took to the air, becoming but a tiny tody. How incredible… What must it be like to fly? She'd always felt like a bird in a cage especially after seeing the macaws… She felt just like them…

The woman started swinging something around and it didn't take long for the bird to dive down and try to catch it. Two, three, five, seven passes… The pair moved in perfect harmony until, finally, the bird caught the thing. The woman bowed in Weiss' general direction before moving off to another area.

That…had been quite the display… It was more than a little intriguing… People could work with birds of prey? And ones that large? Without getting hurt? She'd have to ask Blake about it. It really was quite the amazing encounter…

§

As the evening wore on, Weiss found herself completely unable to sleep. It didn't help she had no sense of time either. She was so used to the big, red numbers glaring at her from the nightstand clock. But that lacked now. It made the room feel cold and unforgiving, bereft of the warmth that permeated the manor during the day.

She could hear nothing from outside. No sounds, no nothing. Everything that had been awake during the day now slept.

Well, she could hear crickets, but that was about it. And being so far from the ground… It barely carried to her ear through the muffling glass.

She felt so restless. She'd thought she'd be fine to sleep tonight, but she wasn't. Maybe she should go to Blake's room. She said it was fine but what if it wasn't? What if Blake got angry and hit her? That felt all too possible. Plus, she'd gotten through nightmares almost every time by herself. She'd learned that there was no point in trying to reach out to anybody. Comfort wouldn't come. It was a rare commodity, meant only to be given out by one person on an infrequent basis.

She went over to the door and inspected it.

Wait.

It wasn't locked from the outside?

She could leave whenever she wanted to?

This…was so very strange.

She changed into one of the shorter dresses along with her riding boots, then hesitated before opening the door. Blake had said she could go anywhere on the manor grounds. Did that include late at night? She wasn't doing anything bad. She just didn't want to be inside. She missed Neighe…though he would probably be sleeping right now. Still, maybe he'd be willing to walk with her? She wouldn't stray far from the grounds.

When she opened the door, a small bird sat on the banister outside. Its little eyes opened and it yawned. What? What was it doing out there? Was it security the family had set out to keep her in her room? She wanted to close the door but found herself cemented to the spot. Darn it.

"Are you the Schnee? If so, then I'm your guide." The little bird spoke quietly and then fluttered to her shoulder. "I'm Sayaka the starling. The Belladonna family told me to guide you wherever you want to go." That…felt odd. Did they really want to give her freedom? Or was this all a ploy to keep her controlled? It certainly could be the latter and more likely was. It'd keep an eye on her movements then report back to the family. Yes, that's probably what it was.

Even so…she still wanted to go outside.

"Could you show me to the stables?" she whispered. She didn't want to wake anybody up. They'd probably pass by Blake's room and she didn't doubt the other girl would wake up if she made too much noise.

The starling gave a nod then started guiding her around the manor. The building lay relatively silent and empty, all but a few servants passing by. They did give her a glance, but it seemed to merely be out of curiosity than anything else. It wasn't like Schnee manor which had guards around every corner. She had never been able to leave her room about eight…

Her stomach growled and she sighed. Now that the initial anxiety had warn off, she really felt that lack of dinner portion. Should she go to the kitchens now or later? More like should she attempt it? She really was starving… The only time she'd been this hungry was when President Jacques cut her food to make her lose weight for dance recitals… She knew she really needed some food and sooner rather than later. "To the kitchens, please?" This was tantamount to suicide and she knew it. She would be punished so severely once the family learned about this.

The little starling rerouted her and they entered a massive room with ovens and stoves. A few people milled about and one turned to face the new arrival. "Well, hello there." The woman's red eyes sparkled brightly and Weiss stiffened a bit. "Are you the new arrival? Dutchess Belladonna told us you need more food. I didn't expect you to be down so late. We can't offer too much at this hour,, but I'll see if I can rustle something up for you if that sounds good." Her tone was light and breezy but very gentle. Weiss relaxed a little and gave a small nod.

"If it's not too much trouble…" She hoped the woman wouldn't get in trouble for this. Anyone in Schnee manor would have gotten fired and blacklisted from ever working in the city of Atlas for this. Why would she offer sif it'd mean putting her job on the line? Holy Father, this made no sense. This whole place was so confusing.

The woman ushered her over to a small table, flitting around for what Weiss assumed was close to ten minutes. Eventually, she returned with a small basket of food. It was mostly fresh fruits and vegetables, though there was a quarter loaf of bread and some butter in it. "Like I said, I know it isn't much, but hopefully it can tide you over until breakfast. Here's a knife for the fruit. Though I'd recommend eating the bread with butter first—I warmed it back up for you." She winked and handed Weiss a small knife. It looked dull, so that was good. She'd never really used knives before, so it was probably the best choice.

"Um. Thank you." It felt so wrong to say that to a servant, but she didn't want to risk anybody's ire. She'd probably be in so much trouble tomorrow morning for this entire escapade. She'd left her room and gotten extra food. She'd be banished to her room for at least a week and get a severe beating, no doubt.

She buttered some of the warm bread which practically melted in her mouth. Holy Father, who knew that bread was so good?! She eagerly dug into the rest partial loaf, savoring every bite. It was rich and seemed to have a lot of grains in it, unlike the bland white bread in Atlas. It was a mixture of flavors unlike anything she'd had before. If she could get more of this, she most certainly would not complain.

With that, she slowly made her way through the fruits and vegetables, though she did soon find her hands uncomfortably sticky. She'd never really eaten with her hands like this before. Thankfully, the cook put a bowl of water and towel next to her before going back to work. Hopefully this was the last time that would happen… It was uncomfortable at best and disgusting at absolute worst.

After she finished up, she thanked the chef again. "I, um… That bread was really good." All she'd ever had was white bread. It was bland like the rest of Atlassian cuisine. She couldn't remember any other time she'd enjoyed anything other than the occasional dessert.

"You did?" The chef blinked. "That's servant's bread, honey. It was all I had left after today. The main family eats white bread. But if you enjoyed it, I can bring you a loaf every morning to snack on through the day." Servant's bread…? Why would the servants and main family have different breads? That didn't make much sense. But she wouldn't make too big of a fuss of it. It really was good…

"Okay. I would really appreciate that, ma'am." She offered a polite curtsy. "And thank you for the food again."

"It's really no trouble. Hopefully that'll tide you over till breakfast." She wasn't sure if it would or not, but she felt a fair bit better than she had not too long before.

…She really needed a timekeeping device. Not knowing the time was going to drive insane. Maybe the merchants that visited Remnant bought some? She really needed one… This was so frustrating.

The starling then led her outside and Weiss looked around. Honestly, it was beautiful in its own way. And now that she was outside, she was out here, she could hear the sounds more. The crickets and other things she couldn't name drifted around her in an asynchronous symphony. It was calming in its own right and bought out the warmth that had seemed to vanish with the light. It was uncomfortably sticky. She could not get over the heat. But she was still glad to be away from the house. It felt so much better than being inside.

She followed the way to the stables and looked around. Almost all the stalls were empty… How would she find Neighe? She didn't want to wake up the family or alert anybody to her presence out there. She really didn't want to get to have to look through each stall either… There were so many. How was she supposed to find her horse?

As she walked, she accidentally kicked a bucket and it sounded like a bomb going off. She heard several snorts from the various stalls. Darn it. She'd alerted them to the fact she was here.

A sleepy dog walked out to her and stretched. It walked slowly, obviously not too concerned. If it was a guard dog, it certainly wasn't a good one. Any dog worth its salt would've woken up the entire household. She'd had that happen to her more than once at Schnee manor. It always left her terrified, but she'd been safe.

"The hell is somebody doing out here at this time of night?" the dog asked, looking up at Weiss. "Nobody's ever out in the stables this late unless the young dutchess really can't sleep…and you aren't here." It yawned then stretched again. She really hadn't meant to interrupt its sleep. That stupid bucket had been left there so carelessly!

"My apologies. Do you know where the hose that arrived here earlier in the day is?" She kept her tone low. There were sleeping animals in the barn and that she might wake up if she spoke too loud. She really couldn't do anything right tonight, could she? She wanted to see her horse and that was it…

"Ah, that one. He's right this way." The dog led her to a stall and Neige stood there, half between awake and asleep. He perked up almost immediately after he saw Weiss, though. She smiled and patted the dog's head before slipping into the stall.

"Weiss, why are you out here…? It's the middle of the night…" His tone was quiet but curious. He was obviously exhausted. She really had messed up coming out here, hadn't she? Even so, she wrapped her arms around his neck and buried his face in his fur. He smelled sweet and comforting… It was a scent she couldn't place but it was light and refreshing.

"I couldn't sleep. I'm not going to ask for a ride, but I wanted to see you." That'd be incredibly unfair to ask that of him after how she'd she'd run him. This was pretty unfair to him too, but he brought her comfort. He was the only thing from her old life that had been good to come with her. She wished Winter was there too… It'd make things perfect. But separating her sister from her job would be so unfair. She'd worked so hard to accomplish everything she had…

Neige's only reply was a puff and he nuzzled his head against her shoulder. "If you want to sleep in here, there's the hay lost." She followed his nose pointing to a raised platform above what seemed to be the feeding area. She doubted she would be able to sleep in the sticky heat.

His ears pricked up and she moved against him, trying to hide. Oh no. Had she alerted somebody other than the animals to her presence? She would be in so much trouble for being out here. Why had she been stupid enough to do this?!

She watched as Blake passed by with a black pegasus though she blinked and looked over. "Schnee? I thought you'd be in bed by now." She kept her voice quiet too. Her ears twitched and she tilted her head.

Wait.

Where was the anger?

Then again, it could always come later.

"I couldn't sleep." No point in lying. The unfamiliar environment unnerved her and probably would for some time to come. She didn't want to be out here every night, though. It was so hot and miserable. How could anybody stand it?!

"Would you like to come back to my room with me after I get back? It'll give you some time with Neige then we can try to sleep." Blake smiled warmly at her. What did she want? She wanted the time with Neige, of course, but aside from that…? She was pretty tired. But the anxiety still had far from left so she was still pretty awake…

'I suppose…" She couldn't turn her down now. Questions were always thinly veiled commands and comments. To turn something like this down would result in punishment.

She just knew it.

Blake headed off with her pegasus, leaving Weiss alone with Neige. It was nice to be int he silence of the night with him…

§

In due time, Weiss found her head starting to bob. All nighters were nothing new to her. But the anxiety and stress from everything was starting to get to her. She wanted to sleep. She really did.

Thankfully, Blake returned not long after that and looked at Weiss. "Give me about fifteen minutes then we can go to my room."

"Hoh-kahy…" Weiss barely held back a yawn. She really was exhausted. She supposed she could try to exhaust herself by playing with her Semblance. It'd drive her aura down and eat through her physical energy too. Dancing and bouncing from Glyph to Glyph would certainly help wear her down.

But she might also get in trouble with it… If she caused any damage to the furniture or walls, she'd no doubt be punished. It was kind of her only option right now, though… She didn't know how to exhaust herself and work through the nervous energy otherwise.

After what felt like an eternity, Blake walked back and offered her a warm smile. "Come on; let's head to my room." Weiss nodded and didn't bother arguing. She was keen to sleep if at all possible. Hopefully the anxiety wouldn't tick back up. She wouldn't count on it, though… She was always anxious. President Jacques' treatment of her kept her on other toes and always afraid.

They reached Blake's room and cozy light from several lamps shone around. What, did they have electricity? She hadn't seen any light switches anywhere. The technology seemed rather medieval. Then again, it seemed like they had indoor temperature control… THe house was considerably cooler than the outside…

Although now that she looked at Blake, her eyes widened. Pants?! How scandalous! How could any lady of high standing do something so…so… She didn't have the words! It was one of the worst things she could imagine! Wouldn't she be the laughing stock of the nobility if this got out?!

The girl seemed to ignore her thoughts and tossed a nightgown at her which she hastily and awkward caught. "You can borrow that for tonight. It's a bit big for you, but it's only us in here…and Sayaka." The starling chirped before to land on the stand in the corner. Vona was nowhere to be seen. Back in her room for the night?" The bathroom's right there." Blake pointed and Weiss nodded.

She quickly changed into the nightgown and found it hanging off her shoulder, exposing more of her chest than she would have liked. It was only one night and both of them were women… There was no real inherent danger here…

Slipping back out, Weiss found Blake climbing into bed. She patted the spot next to her which Weiss did. "I know you're afraid of us and words don't seem to mean much to you. But I promise you that we wouldn't harm you." She kissed Weiss' forehead before settling down. Right. Guardians existed only to harm and scare their charges. Love was a rare thing that existed only occasionally. President Jacques did care, but she had to earn it. She almost never did, but when she did, it was so worth it. She hated Whitely. The only person that loved her unconditionally was Winter. Everybody else wanted to use her for some reason… Gisbert certainly didn't love her as her fiance…

Weiss yawned and pulled the covers around herself, closing her eyes. It was always nice to have the warmth of another so close… Winter usually stayed with her until she fell into the arms of slumber…

So I did want to take a second to say the next chapter is going to focus on Auria. Basically with this story, I'll be switching POVs. First I'll do Weiss and Blake's day, then I'll do Auria's day. I hope this doesn't feel misleading to anybody. I did tag OC/Original Non-Human Character(s) (FFN/AO3) to try to give the head's up of this. While it doesn't have any direct impact on the fae realm, I just felt like it was important to keep tabs on the Schnee family.