"This is it."
The group stood in the quiet, snowy neighborhood in Atlas City Left, a large, well built, and mildly grand house standing before them.
It seemed to be built firmly out of rich mahogany, the window frames and the doors also built with it. The porch was concrete, swept and adorned with a thick, bright red rug. A few flowerbeds by the sill of each window contained some dead flowers, killed by the frost, and some hard dirt.
The house was three floors, windows visible on all three, and curtains could be seen hanging from the inside. The glass covering the windows was shiny and clean, and several bushes surrounded the house. A short walkway led to the front porch where a wooden rocking char sat with a red cushion.
"That's...grander than I expected," Ruby murmured, pondering the house's appearance.
"Wowza!" Nora praised, her hands to her cheeks.
"It does seem to stick out in this neighborhood, for the record," said Blake.
Jaune, Ren, and Oscar just shrugged.
"And here I thought she was some cooky old lady with the underside of a bridge to live in," Yang added, receiving an elbow from her sister. "Ow!"
"Well, whatever it is, we're here," Qrow said, glancing down at the address again and then back up to the number nailed to the house, right above its mailbox, "Let's go."
The group slowly approached the house, walked up the steps, and then stood in front of the door, Qrow holding up his hand to knock. Ruby was feeling a little eager to see that woman, missing the sound of her voice and her somewhat care-free and yet responsible voice. Maybe she could talk more about silver eyes or something.
Then Qrow knocked, loudly and firmly, lowering his hand when he had finished. A long moment of silence passed, everybody wondering weather or not she was home. She probably didn't even know they were coming...But then again, Qrow might've messaged her or something, giving her a heads up so that she wouldn't scold him like a grandma or something.
"Maybe she can't hear us," Yang suggested after about a minute had passed, "After all, if her eyes were going bad, maybe her hearing is, too."
Ruby frowned and roughly elbowed her sister again, this time a little harder. Yang just giggled and rubbed the spot on her arm that Ruby had. Ruby groaned and lightly pushed her, to which Yang responded by whipping all her thick golden hair into her face.
"Yaaaaaang!" Ruby wined, pawing at the hair, "Stop being such a butt!"
"Guys, please stop being so immature..," Blake began, willing them to stop with all their childish behavior. But just then, the door cracked open and through the glass screen door, they all finally saw her.
She smiled widely and opened the screen door, moving her cape out of the way of her arms so that she could open the door more to let them in. Her large mechanic blue eyes looked as good as ever and appeared to have been fixed. Her gray hair was in its usual tight bun, and she looked the exact same as when they had first met her, cane and all.
"Maria!" Ruby said happily, walking over to her and wrapping her arms around her in a hug. Maria, a bit surprised but pleasantly, returned the hug in a sweet, grandmotherly way. Oscar was next, despite the fact that he really looked more like a fully grown man than the small 14 year old boy he had been before. Maria was pretty much all smiles by the time she was no longer bombarded with hugs.
"Now, now," she lightly chided, "You're making me feel old. Get inside and out of this cold weather!"
She lead them all in, slamming the door surprisingly hard, letting the glass screen door shut roughly behind it. Then she waddled to the kitchen, quickly setting a rather large metal kettle on the burner of her black polished stove. Then she crossed back over to them, clasping her hands together sweetly.
"I know that you're all experienced and all 'hero-type', but I honestly wondered if you would all actually make it here," she said, the usual tone in her voice automatically making Ruby smile, "The weather's been dreadfully cold, and I didn't think you'd honestly trust me with such a powerful little Relic."
She pointed her finger at Qrow. "And you, I'm glad you got them safely here."
Qrow smirked and shook his head. "Eh, it's my job."
Maria clicked her tongue and shook her head at him. "Tsk, tsk, Qrow," she said with playful accusation, "I know huntsmen like to be all modest and play Good Samaritan now and then, but I think you need to stop and be a human being for once. Continuous hard work like this simply cannot go without praise."
Qrow shook his head again, rolling his eyes with a smirk. "Whatever."
"Now, I've got some pastries in the oven and some milk, if it's still good," she said, walking back to the oven and using her cane to pull it open. She poked her cane in the oven and prodded one of the many gooey backed pastries that were on three large pans.
Blake and Ruby exchanged a glanced at the end of Maria's sentence. "If it's still good?"
"Well, yes! What, do you think I check my milk every time I drink it to see if it spoiled?" she asked in a scolding tone, "I can find out plenty well when my milk is rotten. The taste is undeniably recognizable. You'd have to have no taste buds to not know if you milk was bad when you drank it."
Ruby giggled and stepped forward. "I can help get things out."
"Thank you," Maria said, smiling up at her before turning to the rest of the group, "We can all talk about things while we eat."
The group nodded in agreement, smiling. Oscar felt very happy to see Maria again. After she had read him those journals at Brunswick Farm and had stayed with him for that while when nobody trusted him because of Ozpin, he had really bonded some with her. She was quite a likable person once you got to spend some time with her.
But although he was happy to see her again, he also felt guilty. She seemed to know everything about a person she knew, and he felt like if he was alone with her or something, she would be able to find out in an instant what he and Ruby were dealing with right now. She was a wise woman, with experience and a long life behind her. So he felt a little hesitant about talking with her.
On top of that, he also felt a little worried about Ruby talking with her. She trusted and loved Maria a lot, and maybe, just maybe, Ruby would brave up and have Maria promise not to say anything about her being pregnant. It somewhat seemed like something she would do, especially to Maria, passably seeking wisdom and guidance.
"Now hurry up and sit yourselves down before your toes fall off!" Maria exclaimed, gesturing towards the table that stood a few feet away behind the large countertop she was standing by. The table was covered by a nice lacy tablecloth with a glass vase of winter lilies in the center. A fireplace stood in the living room behind them, crackling with cozy, warm fire.
The group all quickly walked to the table. There were only five chairs, but plenty of room around it. Nora, Ruby, Blake, and Ren all sat down, Oscar, Jaune, Yang, and Qrow making themselves comfortable by leaning up against the wall, sitting on the floor, and just standing by the table. They left one seat for Maria, knowing that the old woman would probably need to sit her short legs down.
Ruby walked over, setting a pan of the pastries, warm and sweet looking, oozing with jelly, drizzled in white icing, and surrounded in bubbling syrup. A glass pitcher of milk was placed beside it, along with several cups and some small plates.
"You'll most certainly need these," Maria said, tossing Ruby a large, messy wad of paper napkins, "You people can be quite messy."
"Hey, it's a huntsman habit," Yang said, standing up straight and walking towards the table, "We get hungry after all those fights!" She snatched a pastry off of the tray and took a big bite out of it, closing her eyes and smiling as the warmth and perfect sweetness filled her mouth, along with the gooey jelly and the icing.
"Here, Yang," Ruby said, handing her sister a napkin, "You're gonna need-"
She paused as she heard Nora's disturbingly loud noised behind her. Looking behind her, she saw Nora scarfing down several pastries at a time, coating the lower part of her face with frosting, jelly, and sticky crumbs as she shoved one after one into her mouth.
She froze when she noticed Ruby and the others watching her, Ren shaking his head and looking down with a sigh. She stood upright and began wiping her hands quickly on the sides of her skirt, ignoring the fact that all the mess was now getting on her clothes.
"Well, it isn't my fault we didn't stop to eat!" she stubbornly defended, "I second what Yang said!" She crossed her arms and accepted Yang's quickly high five with a smirk.
"Nora, please..," Ren sighed, head still hung, "Use your manners."
"Who made you my dad?" Nora said, zipping over to him and pointing at him, poking him in the chest, "And I don't even have one!"
Ren just looked up at her with that look. The one that he always gave her when he was serious about what he said.
"Okay, fine," she said, waving her hands at him, "I'll be less messy."
She skipped back to the table and continued eating the pastries, only this time, with a plate and fork like everyone else. Ruby poured herself a glass of milk, hoping that it wasn't sour or anything. She took a sip and felt relieved when it tasted the same as any good milk she had tasted. They had come to Maria's at a good time.
"So what's the status on your guys' gig?" Maria asked, taking her reserved seat and setting her cane down against the table, "It must be doing alright if you're all here right now without a bunch of Atlas hooligans eating with us right now."
Ruby giggled and took another sip of milk.
"It's doing great," she said, "We got here without any terrible complications; we weren't found out by anyone, really. Um...and now we're here!"
Maria nodded, looking down at her empty plate that hadn't been served yet.
"All thanks to Ruby's master plan," Yang said, giving her sister a proud wink.
"Is that so?" Maria asked, looking up at her. Ruby blushed and scratched the back of her head.
"Oh, it was nothing, really," she said, her cheeks warm, "All I did was...um, think."
"And she figured it all out by herself," Jaune added, making Ruby's cheeks even warmer, "And by the way things are going right now, I think it'll be a big success. All we need to do next is get the Atlas Relic, and then leave with the Haven Relic."
Maria smiled and nodded at Ruby. "How have you managed to grow up so much on your own?" she asked.
Ruby blushed again and held up her cup. "Heh, what can I say? I drink milk."
The group chuckled and enjoyed some more of the pastries and milk, little speech in between their eating. Then Qrow swallowed a mouthful of pastry and cleared his throat, getting everyone's attention.
"Speaking of which, do you still have the Relic?" he asked.
Ruby cocked her head to the side, confused. "What does me drinking milk have anything to do with that?"
Qrow smirked and shook his head. "No, not that. What Jaune said earlier."
"Ah," Maria said, wiping her mouth with her sleeve despite the napkins set out for that very purpose, "Of course I have it! What, you think I'd accidentally throw it in the wash?"
Ruby giggled. Oscar smirked.
"No, of course not," he said, "We just wanted to ask just in case."
"In case of what?" Maria asked, putting her hands on her hips.
"In case of...well, in case of if you were to loose it-"
Maria grabbed her cane and whacked him on the head with it.
"Ow!" Oscar said, rubbing the sport where she had hit him.
"I just told you that I still have it," she scolded him, making the others start to snicker and laugh, "I thought you were a smart boy and you wouldn't need to answer twice to me about something I've already made clear. I'm not that old, Oscar; I still have a brain."
The group was all laughter behind them now, and Oscar couldn't exactly understand why. "I-I'm sorry!" he said, not wishing to be hit in the head with her firm wooden cane that used to be the Grimm Reaper's scythes.
Maria smiled her smile and then turned back to her plate as if nothing had ever happened, then took a pastry and set it on her plate. The group settled down, but still giggled a little, especially Ruby. Oscar looked at them with question.
"What's so funny?" he asked, his hand still on his head. Blake smiled and shook her head.
"She was just being Maria," she answered, her cat ears twitching a little, "Did you really think she was serious?"
"Well," Oscar began, "No..."
"Haha," Yang laughed, "Nice one, Oscar. Confusion and apologizing really shows your disbelief!"
The group laughed again and Oscar rolled his eyes. "Nice," he said with sarcasm.
"Okay, okay, back to our mission," Qrow said, holding out his hands for silence, "I don't wanna Burts everyone's bubbles, but we can't forget what we're here for. Weiss can't stay at her palace forever before she might get involved with something that could effect our plan, so we need to try to finish this thing as soon as possible, and then relax more."
Maria nodded. "You can all have some nice leisure time here afterwards."
"Thanks, Maria," Ruby said gratefully, the others adding agreements of gratitude. Maria acknowledged their thanks with a simple nod.
"So, Oscar," Jaune said, turned to him, "Where's the Atlas Relic at?"
Oscar thought for a moment, his memories of Ozpin returning as he thought about them. He tried to think back to the time when he had hidden them, thinking hard about the time where he had spent hours upon hours of a safe place to store and hide them, safe from any evil power that wanted to take them...
"Well," he began, "It's obviously in Atlas Academy. I-Oz-put it up in the very top of the large tower that stands on it. The vault is there, inside the tip of the tower, and it's protected by a warrior that changes out every time one of them is unable or no longer willing to protect the vault at all costs."
"Wait, what?" Nora interrupted, "It has a guardian?"
"Yeah," Jaune said, equally confused and disturbed, "How come Haven didn't have one? Or did it, Yang?"
"Nope," Yang said, "Not one there."
"I think it was because," Oscar continued, trying to remember, "of how skilled the students here are. Yes, the teachers and rules here are strict and without exceptions, but the numerous individuals that possess the skill and slyness of a true Atlesian huntsman or huntress trained by Ironwood as well as several others in this large kingdom are at risk of discovering the vault and maybe even getting into it."
"But I thought only a Maiden could get into it," Jaune said, taking a step forward. Ruby looked down, hearing the Ozpin in Oscar's words again.
"Yes, but with some cunning planning and even manipulation, the vaults can be opened and entered by something or someone else."
"WHAT?!" Jaune shouted, his hands in fists, "Then why did you say that only Maidens could get in?"
Ruby winced. This was starting to remind her of a mix that times when Jaune had slammed him up against the wall at his sister's house, and when Jinn had revealed everything about him and Salem's past. She hadn't liked that one bit. And now she had mixed feelings about how they were going to get into the vault.
"Effortlessly and without complication!" Oscar continued, his voice raised, "Only a Maiden can open it without any physical or mental consequences; all and any other ways can and will result in a serious drawback."
"Um, about that..," Ruby said quietly, lightly holding up a hand. But Jaune cut her off, not seeming to notice or see her.
"Wait, so anyone else smart enough or strong enough could have just stolen one of the Relics from any of the schools?" he shouted, looking both angry and confused, "We could have come here for nothing?"
"Mr. Arc!" Oscar yelled, making Jaune cease his shouting and stand there, eyes wide at Oscar's sudden exertion, "I you could simply abstain from your shallow minded reasoning for one moment and actually listen to mine, then I'm sure you would receive your answer!"
Ruby swallowed, looking down. Now Oscar was full out Ozpin at the moment, and she hated it. She just wished Oscar could be himself and not have Ozpin's personality and, well, everything be constantly seeping into him and his actions. He had just called Jaune Mr. Arc for crying out loud! The closer he was to becoming Ozma, she shorter she knew her love for him would last. She didn't love Ozma; she loved Oscar.
When nobody said anything, even Maria, Oscar cleared his throat and continued, not even realizing how distant his real self had become.
"Maidens are the only ones capable of entering any of their assigned vaults without effort or negative effect, as the gates to them were built and designed for that purpose and no other. However, as these gates were created by man, man can also destroy or manipulate them. But because of how firmly held they are to their natural keys, any other attempts to open them will either fail, or end up in some form of negative drawback."
"Like breaking out in horrible boils or something?" Yang asked.
"No, I'm afraid it isn't as simple or magical as that," Oscar said, "For example, if an individual were to try and simply smash in open, they would fail, and as a result of trying to use their brute strength in hitting as hard and firm as anything would ever be in this world, they would most likely harm themselves in whatever part of their body that they were using to try and break it open."
"Oh, so like getting the consequences of doing something stupid?" Yang asked.
Oscar nodded his head in an Ozpin-type formality.
"Yes. And otherwise, if anyone were to attempt using some form of magic or anything of the matter, it would collide with the magic of the vault, meant only for the power of the Maidens, and would lead to some kind of injury or possibly even the loss of the magic in use."
"Basically, trying to break in is a foolish idea," Blake said.
"Yep. I'm pretty sure he made that plenty clear," Nora answered, rolling her eyes, "All this serious talk is making me jumpy!"
"Nobody can easily get in," Jaune said, "But they still could, without the Maidens. So you put a guardian there to protect it with their life, in case anyone ever attempted."
"Um, yeah, so-" Ruby said a bit louder, the guilt and pressure of her knowledge weighing down on her and making her heart race in her chest. But again, Jaune cut her off, still apparently not noticing her.
"And we'll have to get past that guardian if we ever want to get that Relic..," he continued, "So just how good is that guardian?"
Oscar had no need to think back to Ozpin's reasoning. He was already there.
"The first one I deployed was the best of Atlas Academy; skilled and loyal. He could've defeated any individual I had ever encountered for several of my lives, and I was comfortable and proud to grant him that occupation. But it has been many years since then, and I made certain that the committee in charge of assigning and appointing new guardians would know better who to choose; the qualities to be in search for."
"So then the guardian of right now is probably amazing, too?" Jaune asked, his face and voice grave.
Oscar nodded. "If the committee hasn't been corrupted or lax, then yes, they should be."
"Guys?" Ruby interrupted, standing up from her seat, this time gaining everyone's attention as she was practically yelling with panic, "I-I um, well...How are we even going to get inside the vault when we get there? We don't have the Winter Maiden! And Oscar just said it himself that any other tries to get in are a bad idea!"
The room fell silent as everyone stared at Ruby, their eyes fixed on her, even Maria's. Ruby swallowed, waiting for someone to say something, anything.
Here comes the hate speech and criticism!
"You just realized that?" Jaune finally said, a brow raised. Ruby swallowed again, feeling embarrassed and a shaky.
"Uhm, yeah?" she said quietly. Jaune smirked and shook his head.
"W-what's so funny?" Ruby asked, still nervous. Jaune just sighed and looked back to Ruby.
"We've known that since you made the plan," he said, surprising her, "Did you think we'd just forget everything Ozpin and Qrow told us about the vaults, even though it's crucial to this entire plan?"
Ruby shifted uncomfortably in her spot, feeling more and more nervous and yet relieved. If they had known that, then they must've had a plan as to how they would get into the vault. Ozpin would've objected if they hadn't. That brought the relief. But then she also felt uncomfortable, like they might question her knowledge of how her whole plan would go, because she had just realized that they couldn't get the Relic without a the Winter Maiden.
"Well, no..," she said, still quiet with embarrassment and relief. Suddenly, Maria burst out laughing, her head tilting back as she did so. The others smiled, the tension starting to fade a little, and Jaune looking a bit more relaxed.
"Ruby Rose," Maria laughed, "You may be growing up and taking your position as leader seriously, but you can be one shallow-minded child sometimes!"
"I bet Weiss would agree strongly with that," Nora said, giggling.
"Students!" Oscar said angrily, full out Ozpin, "We mustn't avoid the subject of our mission! We need to focus and-"
Ruby frowned and shook her head, about to say something, but suddenly feeling very tired. It was a suddenness that she didn't like, making her head feel heavy and her eyes want to close. Her face felt warm all of the sudden, and the urge to sit down became very strong.
Swallowing, she squeezed her eyes shut, wincing at the uncomfortable feeling and sat down, shutting her mouth and putting her hands in her lap. She heard Oscar gasp-probably deathly afraid that something was up with the baby-and Jaune make some sort of surprised noise.
"Ruby, are you okay?" he asked, taking a step towards her. Yang grabbed his her sister's arm and grasped it tightly, concern clear on her face.
"Sis?!" she said, "You okay?"
Oscar completely shattered out of his Ozpin side, fear and horror rushing through him like a tidal wave. He jogged to Ruby's side and accidentally put his hands on her shoulders, forgetting everyone around him and what else was happening.
"Ruby?! Ruby, is everything alright?!" he asked, panicked.
Ruby's hands trembled a little as she waited for the abrupt, sharp pain in her head to dull and subside, and then opened her eyes to see everyone looking at her with concern. Qrow, Yang, Jaune, and Oscar all looked like their lives were about to end. Blake, Nora, Ren, and Maria all looked worried.
"Guys, guys, I'm alright!" Ruby said, her stomach starting to churn from all of the pastries she ate and something else she didn't know, "I-I just got a little scared from all of the t-tension happening right now. I'm fine, really!"
Her stomach seemed to bubbled furiously as a horrible feeling of sickness seeped in, similar to her previous morning sickness. If she moved an inch she felt like she'd throw up...
"Are you sure?" Yang said, slightly shaking her sister's arm, "Because you don't look fine!"
"Yang, it's okay," Ruby said, the horridness in her stomach building up, "It's probably just-"
The sick feeling suddenly skyrocketed, and Ruby knew what was about to happen. Jerking herself to the right where nobody was directly standing, she vomited as if violently ill, heaving until her throat burned and her stomach ached.
"Ruby!" Qrow shouted in alarm, frightened. If anything was seriously wrong with his last trace of Summer...
It was a horrible moment, feeling everyone's eyes fixed on her; the acidic smell of vomit in a puddle in front of her and on her face; the general physical feeling.
She slowly sat up, the heaviness that had seemed to be weighing her head down while she had been heaving now filtering back down to the rest of her head when she sat up all the way. She snatched a wad of napkins and vigorously rubbed it all over her face, hoping to get rid of any visible traces of the contents of her stomach.
When she had finished, feeling normal to her stomach, but tired in any other way possible, she looked slowly up at the faces of everyone looking at her, eyes wide with shock and horror. Everyone's expressions were the same, except for Qrow's, who's eyebrows added concern to his shock. She swallowed nervously.
"Ruby..," Qrow said, standing up, "Is everything alright-"
"Everything's fine!" Ruby blurted, standing abruptly up with her hands on the table, "I-I just need to-" She gave up, shut her eyes, and rushed away, her hood trailing behind her in a bright red streak and accidentally knocking her cup over.
"Ruby, wait!" Jaune called, following after her with his arm outstretched. Oscar just stood there, eyes wide with sadness and fear. The others in the group all looked back at each other, confused and shocked over what had just suddenly happened.
But Maria just sat there, calm as usual.
"Well," she said, looking over at the puddle of vomit of the floor by Ruby's spot, "I guess the milk wasn't good, after all."
"Excellent performance, Miss Schnee," a slender, well dressed young man said as he lightly raised his glass at her and tipped his head, walking past her.
"Thank you," Weiss answered, beaming, "It was my pleasure."
The man smiled and acknowledged Jacques with a nod of his head before continuing his way towards a woman wearing a tight red dress and sparkling gold earrings. The afterparty of this concert was very similar to the one that Weiss had lost her temper at and had summoned a full creature for the first time. The number of people were about the same, the setup of the same room, the atmosphere...
But this time, Weiss felt much happier, not fully sure as to why she even felt that way. She knew it was because of how smug she felt about singing her song strait to Jacques' unsuspecting face with a clear, blatant smile wide on her lips and the knowledge that she'd soon be out of this frozen, empty version of hell but with butlers.
But there was just something else that she could't decide what it was, nor did she care to figure it out. It didn't really matter to her, anyway. Perhaps it was because she had seen her mother actually sitting and watching on of her performances at the same time as her father. No, because she had been shocked about...never mind.
Yes, she was happy that her mother had been there. It had helped to trigger her extreme joy. And nothing was going to rip that joy away from her now. All she had to do now was sit back and enjoy the party, doing whatever Jacques told her to do with a willing, happy heart. Boy, would he be confused...maybe. No, her probably wouldn't be.
"Jacques, I will say," a gentleman with a fancy black hat said, giving Weiss a glance, "Your choice of entertainment tonight was extraordinary."
The three other men, presumably businessmen, agreed, nodding their heads and giving Weiss smiles and looks. She smily smiled back with a nod. Jacques seemed pleased, gaining his usual smug grin as he set his hand on her shoulder.
"Oh, it was nothing," he said with fake modesty, "I knew that Weiss was just itching to get back onto that stage and put a smile on everybody's faces. So I did my girl a favor, and by the looks of it, you the same."
Weiss didn't really care about her father's reply. She just wanted to talk to someone other than these wealthy businessmen who ranted on about their jobs and how annoying wealth management was, as well as how the Schnee Dust Company was doing and about the subject of the Faunus laborers.
"Well, that certainly was kind of you," the shorter, fatter one said with a chuckle, "She is quite the delicate rarity and such a treat for us. A sight for sore eyes."
"I know," Jacques replied smugly, "Because I know everything."
The five men all laughed together, and Weiss added her own girly giggle-type addition to the laughter. Nobody seemed to notice how fake it sounded as they carried on about how much the auditorium costed to build and how expensive her dress was. Despite Weiss' excellent acting skills, her fake laughs sounded about as terrible as she had looked upon her return to this place.
Glancing over at all of the people enjoying themselves, Weiss looked through them, scanning their faces as if she was expecting to see someone she knew. She pictured Ruby standing by the punch bowl wearing her dance dress, Jaune standing next to her in his tuxedo. Then she pictured Blake, Nora, and Yang all standing together, laughing, wearign their ball dresses.
Then the whole room seemed to dim and the elegant orchestral music of the Beacon began to play, and all of the Beacon students filled the room as the current people faded from view...Jaune appeared beside her, his hand out and smile on his face.
"Weiss, what is your opinion?" Jacques asked, the room returning to normal as she was jerked back to reality. She glanced around to find the four businessmen and her father looking expectantly at her. Weiss swallowed and tried to think of something to say.
"Sorry, I sort of drifted off a little there," she said, brushing a tiny strand of hair our of her face, "What were you saying?"
"Mr. Schnee was just explaining the nonsense of James Ironwood's decision to close off Atlas borders," the tallest businessman said, his mustache twitching, "We were discussing it and sharing our opinions. What is yours?"
Weiss swallowed and rolled her eyes, deciding to throw her real opinion out. Her opinion did make sense and stood with Atlas for the most part. She did trust Ironwood, and his decision made enough sense, considering how horrible the others, who hadn't been at the Fall of Beacon, to accuse Atlas of such a crime. She'd just keep that part out and say the strong half of it.
"I think it's inefficient and a waist of time and money," she said with a stubbornness that imitated her father's, "While we could be shipping out pounds and pounds of dust and getting plenty of lien in the process, Ironwood is closing out borders and preventing us from doing so, all because of some false accusations made from inexperienced people who aren't even at the Fall of Beacon to judge."
Jacques and the others nodded in agreement.
"Smart daughter, you've raised," the middle businessman said, who hadn't talked much yet, "Knows what she's talking about."
Jacques smiled proudly and put his white gloved hand on her shoulder. "Thank you, Beige. I take pride in her."
Weiss inwardly rolled her eyes, but outwardly smiled, giving her father a sweet look.
Glancing around the large room, it suddenly looked more dull that before, due to Weiss' imagination of the Beacon ballroom. Now it was just a bunch of spoiled rich people wearing fancy clothes and eating. Nothing more, nothing less. Sighing, she scanned through the faces once again, wondering if maybe she knew anyone in the crowd...
Weiss froze when she caught site of a woman standing by a table in the far corner of the room, a thin glass of wine in her hand. She was staring at Weiss with her sky blue eyes, almost in a scolding manner. It was Willow. Willow was at her concert's afterparty. In the same room as Jacques.
Clearing her throat, Weiss looked up at her father, who was rapping up his conversation with a humorous joke about Ironwood, and put on her sweet, happy face again, hoping that Jacques would let this attempt slide...
"Father," Weiss asked politely, still smiling happily, "May I please go and talk to...someone over there? I haven't talked to them in a while...it'd be nice to catch up."
Jacques raised a brow, seeming to be mulling over the events of the last afterparty they had hosted with Weiss. His mustache twitched as he thought for a moment, listening with half an ear as one of the businessmen was giving the others a final farewell before he left for home then evening.
"Alright," he said, waving his hand up for an Atlesian guard to come, "But you will be escorted because of last time's...incident." He narrowed his eyes as he said that last word, making Weiss feel uncomfortable. But she smiled and nodded.
"Of course, Father!" she said thankfully, "Thank you very much."
An Atlas guard approached, holding his gun uniformly with both hands. Jacques gestured with his head toward Weiss.
"Escort Miss Schnee where she wants, as long as it's within the party's perimeters," Jacques ordered him, "Make sure she doesn't cause any disruptions."
The guard nodded it's affirmative answer before taking his place beside Weiss. Weiss felt betrayed that her father didn't trust her, but then again, after last time's happenings...Yeah, there was no way he would magically buy anything she told him, exactly.
Weiss nodded at the guard and made her way towards her mother, who was now lightly swirling her glass of wine in her hand. When she had reached her, the guard stood stick straight beside her and waited in standby.
"What do you want," Willow asked, taking a sip of her drink.
"Mother..," Weiss began, glancing at Jacques, who was now consumed in a lively conversation with a gorgeous woman in a skintight, red dress and waring golden earrings, "Why um...why exactly are you here?"
Willow gave a grunt of mock humor as she continued to swirl her glass before answering her daughter.
"Why exactly are you here," she asked, some sort of form of a smile on her face, "It doesn't make much sense to me."
Weiss hesitated before feeling slightly angry. Why didn't her mother just tell her why she was suddenly doing all of this? Sure, it had only been one single day since she had arrived, but this was abrupt. Suddenly attending her concert and then the afterparty, questioning her and seeing through her plan somehow.
"Well, you're not making much sense, either," Weiss said stubbornly, crossing her arms, "It's a little hard to make sense of something so vague."
Willow rolled her eyes and downed the rest of her wine, setting the glass lightly on the platter of a waiter walking past. She licked the last remnants of her drink off her lips while staring at Weiss, looking about ready to answer.
"Look around you," she said, gesturing at the room of people, "What do you see?"
Weiss glanced around, her ponytail flicking as she did. "A bunch of rich people eating and talking."
"And what do you think they're talking about?"
"The same things they talk about anywhere and anytime else. Money; wealthy management; their jobs; family matters."
"What do you think they consider themselves as?"
"Wealthy, hard woking people who have never sinned a day in their lives and deserve nothing by the best."
Willow chuckled, a tired, almost drunk chuckle, but still remaining sober at the same time. "What do you consider yourself as?"
Weiss blinked and looked up at her mother. "I'm sorry, what?"
"What do you consider yourself as?" Willow repeated, still looking around at the guests that filled the room. Weiss stood there a moment, debating whether she should give Willow her true feelings about herself, or the ones she partially believed and that the others believed. Well, seeing how Willow was right now, why not give her the truth?
"I consider myself a victim," she began, standing up a little straighter and holding her hands tighter, "A victim of a selfish, wealthy, spoiled man who cares nothing about anybody but himself. Who was and still has been throwing me here and there, wherever he wants me, to push him a little further towards his goal, even if he ends up pulling me under to exalt himself. I'm just a tool, not a person; not his daughter. And I hate it."
Willow stood there, staring sternly at the guests, then at Jacques, then down at her feet. The constant tired look in her eyes that always lingered since she had begun her drinking habits seemed amplified by her sternness.
"I consider myself as spoiled milk," she said abruptly in a low, cold tone. Weiss blinked again, surprised and confused.
"What do you mean?"
"Well," Willow sighed, looking back at Weiss and loosing the stern face, "I once was fresh, sweet, and 'creamy' if you will, perfect, chilled, and ready for consumption. Then your father came along, drank me a third up, and left me out right after, letting me rot and fester."
Weiss blinked even more as she stared at her mother. This was unexpected.
"And now, with what Jacques wanted to use me for now used, and with anything else left for me to offer, ruined, I'm just a two-thirds full bottle of spoiled milk."
She smirked exasperatedly and shook her head.
"I'd kill myself if Jacques didn't have me on a leash."
"Wait, what?!" Weiss almost shouted, earning no reaction from her mother at all, "You'd commit suicide?!"
But Willow just cleared her throat, wiped her mouth with a napkin on a nearby table, and began walking towards one of the exits to the room. Weiss was about to follow her when she called back, right before disappearing amongst the groups of guests,
"Lovely performance, honey."
Weiss stood there, the Atlesian guard standing beside her, with her eyes wide in confusion. Shocked about the obvious. Turning around, she saw Jacques kissing the woman he had been talking to's hand, resulting in a flirty blush from her. The familiarity of the woman suddenly had a thought click through Weiss' head.
Wait, that's the same woman who's with that one man who complemented me earlier!
Oh, looks like Jacques a cheater, too. Not so big of a surprise. Funny, I actually really don't like Maria. I just have to write her like she is in the show. :P
I apologize for the late update; I lost track of how long I was taking to write this and got a little lax. Thank you all for your patience and support!
Thanks for reading and tune in for more chapters!