A Prison of Ice

XV.


Weiss stared at her own reflection from the mirror in her room.

A girl clad in a sea of white stared back. Instinctively, her eyes zeroed in on the one blemish that ruined her otherwise flawless image; the scar that ran down her left eye. She had been rather distraught with that disfigurement at first, scared at how a certain someone would think about her. In hindsight, it was a foolish thought her own insecurities had given life.

Perhaps she was no longer the perfect heiress that her father desired her to be, but that was alright with her.

Her decision to become a huntress, her choice to go against Father's wishes, and the scar that she had received because of it; all of it felt rather… liberating. All her life, she had lived like a caged bird, bending to her father's will. None of the decisions in her life had ever been her own, and they were all aimed towards molding her into the perfect heiress; to make up for her 'failure of a sister', as Father had so aptly coined.

Winter was no failure, if anything she was jealous of her sister for having the courage to go against Father and follow her own path.

Weiss brought her hand up towards her scar and gently traced over it with her fingertips. A mark of pride, he had said. Yes, that had a much more satisfying ring to it. He always knew what to say to cheer her up. If she would no longer be the perfect heiress in Father's eyes because of her decision to walk her own path, then so be it. She would be imperfect, and proud of that fact because it had been her choice to make.

The scroll on her desk suddenly rang, shaking her from her thoughts.

Makoto was a bit earlier than usual today, but she wasn't going to complain. Their calls always helped brighten up her day after all. She picked up her scroll and answered the call; greeting the blue-haired boy on the other side of the screen with a smile.

"Makoto." The name easily flowed out like a nice melody. "How have you been?"

His complexion looked better, the dark circles under his eyes had noticeably shrunk. That was good, she wouldn't have to lecture him on the dangers of not getting enough sleep again. As sensible as he was, Makoto really had a lack of self-awareness with his own well-being.

"Hello, Weiss." He replied with a smile of his own. "I've been well. Work has finally slowed down now that I've been able to get some of my new policies implemented."

She didn't need to ask what those policies were about. It had been all over the news lately after all, about the sweeping changes the Yuki Corporation had been making regarding the Faunus workers at the mines. Why he worked so hard for the very people that had hurt him so badly was something that she had to come to accept. Makoto was simply too kind-hearted for his own good.

After what the Faunus had done, she didn't think they deserved his kindness. She didn't voice her thoughts on the matter, however. That always ended in arguments, and she didn't enjoy spending what little time they had together wasted on pointless arguments.

"By the way, did you get my invitation?" She asked.

"I did. I was a bit surprised your father agreed to it."

Weiss couldn't help but laugh at that.

Father had definitely not agreed to anything, he simply didn't have a choice. He had attempted to intimidate her by giving her an ultimatum and when she had passed his test; he had been positively incensed that she had beaten him at his own game. It would have been strange for there not to be a celebration of sorts when the heiress of the SDC got accepted to the most prestigious huntsmen academy in the world after all.

Father wouldn't want to sully the image of perfection he had worked so hard to craft.

"Oh, he was absolutely livid about it." She replied with a devilish grin. "He simply doesn't have much of a choice in the matter."

"Are you excited?"

"I am! A tad nervous and scared as well." She explained; it was always easy to be honest with Makoto. "I suppose that's simply a part of the experience though."

"It's always a challenge to leave your comfort zone and try something new." Makoto replied with a knowing look. "Did you know that Mercury's taken up cooking recently?"

"What?" Weiss laughed; that was probably the strangest thing she had heard all week. "Mercury and cooking? He doesn't look the part at all!"

Makoto chuckled in response. "I thought the same. Jacob's been helping him."

"I hope he's not having you be the taste tester. I'd hate to find you in a hospital bed again."

"I haven't had a chance to try one of his dishes." Makoto had a thoughtful look on his face. "Perhaps he isn't confident enough in his cooking yet? I should ask him about it sometime."

"You really are fearless, aren't you?" She dryly asked. "... Speaking of fearlessness, you've still been going to the mines, haven't you?"

Makoto's expression reverted into his usual blank stare. "… I have."

He wouldn't listen to her, she knew that.

He had always been strangely stubborn about certain things. Still, it didn't stop her from worrying. What if those White Fang scoundrels attacked him again while he was at the mines? She doubted Mercury could protect him alone; not when everyone else there was a Faunus as well. Even if they might not have been directly involved, she knew in her mind that those Faunus wouldn't lift a finger to help him either.

Honestly, she wished Makoto would just leave Mistral altogether.

That kingdom was rife with criminals and scoundrels. It wasn't like he needed to be in Mistral to run the company after all; he could do it remotely. She knew that would never happen though; he was far too obsessed with trying to help the Faunus. He really was too kind for his own good.

If she had it her way, Makoto would be within the safe confines of Atlas, far away from any Faunus and more importantly; Makoto would be with her.

"I suppose you'll just ignore me as usual when I say that it's dangerous."

He gave her a reassuring smile. "That's why I hired Mercury."

"... How can you even forgive them, Makoto?" She eventually asked in a low voice. "... I hate them for what they did to you."

"It's not good to hang onto that hatred, Weiss."

She knew that. She knew that, but she couldn't help it.

Why did they have to hurt Makoto like that? Why did they have to hate her family? Why did they have to hate her when she hadn't even done anything? How was she not supposed to bear a grudge when they wouldn't even give her a chance to begin with?

She had seen the looks that the Faunus would give her whenever she had to visit Mantle.

"... I'm not as strong as you are, Makoto." She averted her eyes. "I can't forgive them for what they did."

They almost took him away from her.

Makoto just let out a tired sigh in response. "Not all Faunus are bad people, Weiss. Just like how not all humans are good people."

Weiss had nothing to say to that.

Perhaps that was true; Makoto wouldn't lie to her, but all she knew of the Faunus was their hatred for her family and the company. All she ever heard was that they had attacked another Dust convey, or they had attempted to assassinate another board member. Or even worse; that they had almost taken Makoto away from her. Maybe Makoto was right; maybe not all of them were bad people, but she had never met one that didn't look at her with complete and utter disdain.

So, she said nothing and kept her silence instead.

"... How about we talk about something else for now?" Makoto eventually suggested, breaking the tense silence. "Why don't you tell me about the upcoming party?"

That was how all their arguments usually ended. One of them would try to change the subject and nothing would ever be resolved in the end. And that was fine, Makoto was stubborn, but she wasn't lacking in self-awareness to know that she was stubborn as well. Perhaps something would need to change in the future, but for now; she was content with the status quo.

"Well…" She slowly began. "I was planning on singing; a final recital of sorts…"

And just like usual, they would talk into the night until her eyes grew heavy and the clutches of sleep finally overtook her.


Mercury let out a low hiss as he disinfected the wound on his hand. It hurt like hell, but he was used to it. It wasn't like Marcus ever helped him take care of his injuries after all.

Mercury ran his uninjured hand over his hair and let out a deep breath. He had hesitated for a split second and it had cost him. He hadn't killed the look outs quickly enough and one of them alerted his buddies before he could finish him off. The whole thing went to shit after that and he had to fight his way through everyone in the end. That had been a pain; they weren't huntsmen, but they were more skilled than most of the two-bit gangsters he had seen before.

It was strange, because he never hesitated before.

As he was about to slit the man's throat though, Makoto's words came to mind. Mercury knew Makoto wouldn't have approved, he wasn't someone that grew up in the darkness like he did. They were from two different worlds, his friend had a fully intact moral compass while he couldn't have given a damn.

And yet, for the first time in his life, he had hesitated on a kill.

Mercury knew it wasn't because he was growing a conscience; he was too far gone for that now. Marcus had beaten that out of him ages ago. Perhaps he was simply afraid of what Makoto would think if he were to find out what they had been doing behind the scenes. He'd be disappointed, for sure, but would he hate him for it?

Would they still be friends…?

He found that he didn't want to dwell on that thought any longer.

Even if he hated him for it, that was fine. He just wanted his friend to be safe. It was better for Makoto to be alive to hate him than to be dead and gone. He wasn't sure what he would do with his life otherwise. Oh, he'd look for revenge and go on a rampage, that much was a given; but what would happen after that if he didn't end up dead as a result?

What else did he have left in this world?

Mercury finished cleaning out his wound before he wrapped it back up again with some new bandages. This was why he didn't enjoy being alone, it always caused him to ponder about things he'd rather not think about. It was always more fun to just laze around and crack jokes with the boss. He closed his eyes and leaned against the wall; his time was better spent focusing on the next job instead.

Jacob already had the next target scoped out for him after all.

He couldn't be this sloppy again, if he suffered any more injuries Makoto would notice something wrong. Or even worse, if he died on the job and they searched through his corpse; they could link him to the boss. The last thing he wanted was to screw things up and cause even more trouble for Makoto.

Jacob would have had his head, and this whole thing would have been pointless.

That butler could be surprisingly cold hearted and vicious when necessary. It didn't fit him, but if it was for the sake of Makoto, he seemed to even be willing to wade into the mud himself. Mercury wasn't a fool, he knew Jacob was using him and he was fine with that. If it was for the boss's sake, he didn't mind being a weapon once more.

If Makoto was the light, then he was the darkness that followed him.

His friend shouldn't have to be dragged into the muck. Makoto had higher aspirations than anyone he knew; world changing ones. Even someone like Mercury could recognize that. Someone like him should stay in the light where he belonged. He didn't need to trouble himself dealing with the scum that lived in Mistral's deep underworld.

That was the job for those that had been born in the night.

Mercury allowed himself a dark chuckle. Marcus was probably rolling in his grave right now, to see the weapon he forged doing all of this for someone else's sake. Perhaps there had been some truth in his old man's words after all, he had grown soft. The Mercury of old would have never lifted a finger for anyone's sake, but look at him now. Here he was busting his ass to make sure the boss wouldn't be in the line of fire.

Idly, he couldn't help but wonder if he had gone completely insane.

And funny enough? He found that he didn't really mind.


Blake didn't know how much time had passed since she had met with Makoto Yuki.

Sometime after Makoto and his friend had left her behind at the mines, she had wandered her way back to Mistral. She had brought enough money with her to stay a few weeks at a cheap hotel, and other than for food, she hadn't left her room since. She felt like she was in limbo, the days all felt like a blur to her.

Everything she ate tested like ash and even her favorite novels she carried with her couldn't ease her mind.

Blake didn't know what she expected when she sought out Makoto Yuki. Absolution for her guilt? A way to atone? Or perhaps a final judgment and an end to the suffering. She still wasn't sure, but he had given her none of those. All he had offered her was forgiveness and some vague advice.

His forgiveness only made the guilt weighing down her soul feel even heavier.

Make the world a better place. That was what he had said to her. Hadn't she already been trying to do that in the first place? Wasn't that the reason why she was in this situation in the first place? She had just wanted the Faunus to be treated as equals. No, somewhere along the way the vision that she and the White Fang shared had become warped and distorted.

Blake couldn't lay the blame solely on Adam.

He might have been the first one to walk down that slippery slope, but she should have never allowed it get that far to begin with. Makoto had been right, vengeance was nothing but a chain that trapped your soul in bitterness and anger. She should have tried harder to pull him back, protested against his decisions more, or done something, anything.

And then maybe this terrible tragedy could have been avoided.

But it was too late for that now and no matter how much she wanted to undo it; she had blood on her hands. She could still hear them, even over the sounds of the television, the voices of the dead. They just wouldn't leave her alone, her mind wasn't her own anymore; it belonged to her and the voices in her head.

Deep down, she knew she wished Makoto had just killed her instead.

He had been right; she sought judgment for her sins. She wasn't suicidal, she just wanted the pain to stop. The guilt was too much for her, perhaps if she had been consumed by vengeance like Adam, she would have been spared the voices, but she wasn't. She brought her knees close to her chest and hugged herself.

"... another Grimm attack repelled thanks to the heroics of the students from Haven Academy."

Slowly, Blake raised her head and stared at the television screen. It was a news report, about how a group of third-years from Haven Academy had protected a village from a Grimm attack.

Make the world a better place.

Makoto's words suddenly echoed through her mind.

The Grimm were everyone's enemies, human and Faunus. An idea slowly formed within her head. If she became a huntress, she could help people, save people even. If she rose up the ranks to a position of power, she could be like Makoto Yuki and help the Faunus from within the system rather than trying to destroy it like the White Fang did.

That… could be her path to absolution.


Author's Notes- I fixed the extra paragraphs in the last chapter. Sometimes it bugs out like that when I run it through a proofreading app. I got lazy and didn't manually proofread through it after. Proofreading my own stuff is boring as hell, so if I get lazy and it happens again, it'll be fixed by the next day or so.

Anyway, our favorite princess is finally back after that two chapter hiatus. Unfortunately for her, it seems a certain cat and wanna-be chef seem intent on stealing the spotlight for now, haha. As usual, thanks for all the reviews and I'll see you in the next chapter!

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