An Imprisoned Heart
Schnee Manor
Weiss is standing on a balcony of where the snow is falling gracefully. Inside the manor is a party full of guests she never know of. Heirs her age would come here to woo her for her fortune, but to no avail. She is too smart to let suitors become her groom. If there's one thing she have wished for is belonging to herself just a little bit longer if she cannot live with the strictness in her household. To her comfort, Winter is invited to the party and stood beside her. "Rough night, huh?" Winter asked. Her face brought Weiss to smile to see her elder sister in the same place. "Pretty much. I really hate these parties. The last time I skipped one, Father didn't take it too well." She sighs. Winter could understand how much of a burden being an heiress has been since Winter was a former heiress herself too. "But I have to keep this up, if there's a chance he pass the company to me, I'll change it for the better." Weiss assures her.
Winter smiled with her eyes closed as she shook her head in joy. "Well, that's life. But not in a good way." Weiss then turns to her to say something she has been excited to tell her. "Winter."
"Yes, Sister?" She asks. Weiss pulls out her scroll an pop out an app to show Winter her acceptance letter from Beacon Academy. She has received a 100% score in her entrance exams. A requirement to enter Beacon to get enrolled with an 80%-100% grades. Winter was surprised to see her sister passing the exams. But also worries that she might not handle on her own. After all, Winter was her only study-buddy, her rock, her supporter. "You passed the entrance exams to Beacon. That's wonderful news." Before Winter could say anything else, they were cut off by a white-haired male with similar eyes. With a grey-blue vest and black casual pants. Plus a white dress shirt underneath. "Sister, Father told me to come get you. He wishes to speak to you." Weiss is displeased to hear that her father requested her presence. "Alright, Whitely. Tell him I'll be right there." He left the balcony in dismay at her tone of dislike, since he doesn't want to become a huntsmen.
Weiss then turns to Winter for some advice. But she doesn't know what to say. She just shrugged her arms. "I am not so sure, Weiss. But I am starting to get a bad feeling about this." Weiss agrees with a nod. "I'll be right back, I just want this to be over with." Winter understood this and let her be to finish whatever her father wanted to speak to her of. Weiss gulped upon walking her way to her father. Her ankles are shaking in the tip of a heartbeat. But one thing that made her feel better, is the day she met the boy in Poseidon Island. Her heart calmed down after reflecting that memory. Her cheeks flushed at the sight of that vision, and determine to meet that boy again. She made her way to her father, standing next to him was her younger brother. There are two other people talking to them. There was a man with rusty colored hair, and in his 50s. A beard that was sharply trimmed in a black tux. With a golden pin attached. And a boy in Weiss' age with similar hair color, and was wearing a uniform that represents Atlas Academy. Which makes Weiss uneasy at some point. He looked at her with a smirking facial expression.
Then Jacques turned to his daughter and greets her in a pretense. "Ah, Weiss. Glad you're here." He said tipping his mustache. "Yes, Father?" She sighs. He made hand gestures to make the introductions. "Let me introduce you to a friend of mine, this is Montero Vega, and his son, Carlos from the Vega Corporation. I have invited them here to have some catching up to do." Montero then turns to Weiss. "A pleasure to meet you, Miss Schnee. Your father has mentioned so much about you." Weiss keeps her composure to not make a mistake in front of her father. Winter kept an eye watch from afar to keep a close eye on her younger sister, believing that her father would think of something real bad. And her suspicions are correct. "It's nice to meet you." She replied.
Montero turned to Jacques and both nodded. "We'll leave you two alone for a bit. Montero and I have some things we need to talk about regarding our companies." They stared at their fathers leaving the spot along with Whitely. Who would accompany their father for unknown reasons. Weiss then turns to Carlos, when he curtsied in front of her. "I have long waited to meet you, Miss Schnee. Must I say, you look very lovely with that composure in the party." Weiss frowned form the hunch for what she already knew what he was about to do. She pressed her hands together to not react to her nervousness. "Thank you, but flattery isn't enough." She remarked. "So I heard you're going to Beacon. How wonderful, I recon you're going to train to become a huntress, is that correct?" Weiss is hesitant about answering his question, but she was too bored to have reluctance. "Yes, why is that?"
"Shameful, it has been full of commoners by the time you will arrive." Weiss rolled her eyes in disgust. "But not to worry, we all know how harsh the world is, and that we must adapt. I must warn you, those commoners won't be as friendly as you might think." Something tells Weiss in her sense that his eyes seemed very dangerous. "Still, I admired your skills." He then was about to ask her something. But it won't be any good, as Winter have taught her to remain vigilant at all times. "Come with me. There is something I must ask." Weiss is astonished for what he just say, she was hoping it was just a favor kind of request, and not something over her fortune. He led her outside in the balcony where she left off after speaking to Winter. She kept her arms crossed to not be nervous about what he was about to request. When they arrived at the balcony, they stood at silence. Carlos then smiled in a calm, collected manner like he has something to surprise her. But the results would remain the same. "What is it?" She asks.
He knelt down to her and pulled out a ring with a tiny diamonded ring inside. A golden sterling around. "Marry me." Weiss jolted by his words. More demanding than to be asked for. What kind of request is this? Is this a joke being pulled by her father's elaborate scheme? How far will this go. "What?!" The next time another boy or men proposed to her, it won't be anyone rich. "Is this a joke?" She interrogates. Carlos didn't seem to flinch in her question. But willingly answers.
"I can assure you, it is not. The moment I laid my eyes on you. I knew this night will come. Join me, and we can be the most powerful people in Atlas. With you as my queen." Weiss thought the term, "queen," was just a term. The monarchy days have died down a long time ago. She wasn't having it. Instead she was holding out her hand to a pause, while jerking her head away. "Absolutely, not. Not in a million years will I marry you, if you're the last man on Remnant. I'm not taking any chances. I'll be going now." Weiss left the balcony. Winter gave Weiss a grim as she is impressed to have refuse the marriage. And walks with her to catch up for some sisterly conversations. Carlos didn't take "no" for an answer. But he lets her be. Talking to himself to make a vow.
"Make no mistake, mi Belleza de Nieve. Someday you'll be my wife. And together, we'll be king and queen in all of Atlas." He said in a dark tone of his voice. Doubting anyone could hear.
Weiss opens the door of her guest room to head to the secret passageway once again to free the huntsmen this time. She leaned her head through the door without being seen to check for any guards in sight.
It was far too quiet. Nobody was around. Probably the guards might be actually focusing on remaining vigilant in the outdoors. It was Weiss's chance to exit her room and roam around to Vega's office. She then heard voices of anger. And there she peeked at the nearly closed door.
Carlos is standing next to his bed yelling at someone in his scroll. "What?! What do you mean Vasilias is still alive?!" The words had Weiss to cover her mouth in surprise. When she heard that surname, it could mean one thing. That her Romeo is still alive. "You are meaning to tell me, that someone else have Rick Argo's scroll?" He stopped while his spies are finishing their sentences. "How could you idiots let this happened?! You're all fired! If you excuse me, I have a wedding to plan." Vega hung up the scroll and storms off his bedroom. Whilst Weiss is hiding behind the pillar before he sees her.
Her eye brimmed for relief. For her beloved, Neptune to be alive and safe. Her cheeks turned red from the tiredness that have flown from her head.
Neptune. He's alive. He's alive. I was about to faint for a moment. I am so relieved. I have to get everyone out first, then find Neptune.
Weiss then enters his office and memorized the digits while pressing the buttons on the telephone. "6...3...9...4...1." She reads. Then the passage doors opens from the bookshelf. "Who's useless now, Father?" She grinned. Hoping to get the last laugh for her escape. There, she was breathing at the tempo of the heartbeats. The heart monitors in the pods are still active. The comatose subjects are lucky to be alive. When she checks the mainframe computer, there was a password required to unlock the pods. Of course, they will eventually feel weak when they wake up from their coma. But what choice does Weiss have to save the trapped huntsmen. "If I can find the password. I should be able to free everyone. Alright let see." Weiss checks out the draws for any written passwords. Everyone knows that the passwords can have secret meanings. Birthdays, pets, favorite child, sibling, flavor of cake, or rather their crushes. But most have numbers on them with eight characters.
Taking the opening on the last draw, at long last, there's a piece of yellow sticky note that has the password written on it. It was much to her luck for their freedom. But not to Weiss when she jolted at the sound of the voice that pierced her hear with fear and vigilance. "Well, well. You're smarter than how you actually think. But this time, I have come in very prepared." Weiss turned to see Carlos snooping up from behind. Like he can predict anything that was about to happen. "You didn't think I wouldn't know about you sneaking into my lab the other night, haven't you, mi Belleza de Nieve." Weiss has her hand behind her back waist for the element of surprise. "What you're doing is wrong, Vega. That kind of technology is illegal and you know it. Once I get out of this mansion, the first thing I am going to do is expose you to my sister." She threatens. Weiss shows no mercy to the man who was about to imprison her for eternity. She wasn't about to let her heart, mind and soul be under control of a madman who would place innocent warriors in pods. As Carlos walks towards Weiss, she pulls out the toledo right in front of him. He stumbled back in shock.
One of his trusty swords pointing at him, in her hands. Her eyes pierced with full hatred. Still, he chuckled in sight. "What's so funny? You think you're the only one who came prepared? Well guess what, Vega. Do am I." She remarks. The swordswoman has her left foot in front. Their swords clang at the vibration of the touch on one's blade. Carlos was the first person to have brought down his toledo and swings down at Weiss. But lucky for her, her semblance has returned. With her Glyphs, she sprung from the floor beneath her and uses her gravity glyph to hang onto the walls in her feet. Sprinting off the walls and charged at Carlos with all her might.
"Impossible! That poison should've been permanent!" Carlos gawked.
"That's where you're wrong!" Taunted Weiss. Both are clanging each other's swords at the Mach speed of 4. Both are compatible enough to hold their own ground. Weiss have struck Carlos in the cheek with the blow of a hilt. He nearly thrown back into the walls. But he maintain his stance and throws his poison rose at Weiss. But she wasn't going to let him pierce her again, like he did before. "Not this time!" Weiss blocked the roses he threw at any space. The rose pedals have been ripped to shreds. Carlos then wraps his whip around her wrist, but Weiss caught it by surprise. Yanking it for Carlos to be pulled into place for her to make a blow against him. He flew back at one of the pods that crack the glass. Then a huntsmen have opened his eyes when the glass breaks. Causing the pod to raise an alarm when it breaks completely. He stirred awake as he clings into the pod. And felt dizzy from his awakening. "What...happened?" He stammered. Feeling exhausted from being in a coma. Like it was a forever time being. Weiss took this opportunity to let him escape. "Go! Go now! You have to get out of here and get help!" Weiss calls. The huntsman hopped out his pod and ran out of the basement to expose him to the public. The red alarms blared reacting to the broken green glass from the pod. Before Weiss could combat Carlos' strike from the air while she remained on ground.
"Don't think I will let you off this easily without finding out about this." Warned Carlos. But Weiss won't regret letting the huntsmen go. She lunges forward at Vega when he twirls to collide with her stolen blade. Until Weiss sways away, only for Carlos to give her the cut on the cheek. Leaving only a drop of blood. Weiss palms it, it was only a bit of pain she could endure. And she didn't care. Weiss hits her sword on Carlos' back, but he was quick to block it from behind. Carlos takes out his poisonous roses as she ran up the walls to magnetize herself to them and runs across while avoiding the roses. Weiss jumps off the walls and rolls to the corner when Carlos charges ahead. She twist her waist to dodge the single hit he has made to threatened her. With blood still stream from her cheek. She still ignores it.
Weiss creates a glyph to manifest the duplication of a manticore. A grimm she have killed of in the train station. And made a distraction to let it attack Carlos. While he sprints away from it as it raises its claws. The manticore made a lot of swats, aggressively. Even if the projection isn't real, it is still strong enough to take harm on a target their masts have ordered to go after. Carlos then sees the paper in her pocket and snatches it before she could see it. Weiss quickly notices, and grabs his wrist to take it back. But Carlos pushes back. "Ah, ah, ah! I won't let you get away with this." He taunted. "Oh yeah?! You're the one who's in trouble, you murderer!" The broke away from each other and panted from exhaustion. Weiss looks down still holding up to her stamina. Carlos still has the paper in his hands and waves it like he owns a will. Weiss whistles for the fake manticore to come up from behind.
Who cares if I am a rich girl? It doesn't stop the fact of the how they all treated me. I will find a person in me, no matter what. She thought. With such determination to break free from the manor prison, Weiss picks up her speed to sprung from the basement floor, to the stairs and runs for it. Guards heard the commotion and attempt to block Weiss from getting out. But she have thought quicker otherwise to spring from the walls. Even the guards seem to have regret taking their jobs, as they might eventually get yelled at by their boss. Weiss will have to find another way to rescue the other huntsmen. The Vega family is considered to be dangerous in her point of view, but for some reason there was no record of their crimes, like they were already wiped out.
Suddenly, lengths of white-blonde hair have stretched its way to Weiss. And it was about to grab her. But Weiss cuts back, leading the pieces of locks to be fallen to the floor. More and more hair have been regenerated like lizards growing back their skin. "Get your filthy hair, away from me!" Weiss shouts swiping the swatting lock across her way. Another length is trying to grab her ankles. But Weiss jumps over, until she is tricked by being grabbed by the hair. This time, it wraps around the lower body, and then her arms down. "Dah! Hey!" She shouts. Dangling upside down, the sword was dropped to the floor. She saw the figure for where the hair is coming. She is a female Atlesian soldier with purple eyeshadow above the eyelids. She is wearing the uniform. Much to Weiss' dismay and shock. "Hey, you put me down right now!" She demands. But instead of complying, the woman yawns. "You're from the Atlas Military, right? You wouldn't want to do this to them. You do realized I am the sister of the current General, and if you don't release me, I'll make you sorry!" She warns.
"Oh my, you're just as an airhead as the General. Well guess what, neither of you Schnees are making the rules here." Replied the woman, cheekily. Then they heard a clap from behind. The woman curtsied as Carlos slow claps, wearing the same malicious smirk. Weiss glared at him to not let her humanity fall. "Excellent work, Rina. Lower her down for a bit and keep her on hold." She complied to the heir and lowers Weiss down for her to face him. Carlos has gotten close to her. "I'm impressed of how far you make it. But how else am I supposed to keep you from leaving?" Carlos taunted. But Weiss turns away in response to his behavior. "I don't see the reason of being here, not because of the debt. But you cannot keep me here. Do you have any idea how many lives you're ruining today?" Weiss snarled, trying to come up with a new strategy to escape. But with more traitors in Atlas Military, who can she trust now? How is her sister fooled this easily. Is she aware that there are shadows among them? But Carlos has different reasons of why he wanted to bring her into his household. How many more deceivers Weiss has to deal with? "I only brought you here for a different reason. Have it even occurred to you for why your bloodline was so special?" Weiss knew that her semblance was rare, is that why she wanted her? For experiment? Is she next on his list.
"If this is about my grandfather's will. Forget it, I am no longer the heiress of the Schnee Dust Company. And my brother is the current heir, there is nothing you can do about it." Weiss counters, but Carlos stood silence as a "no." He turned around and walks forward with his hand over his chin. "No, it's not that. As you can see, I am bringing back the monarchy in Atlas to become powerful than any kingdom in all of Remnant." Weiss finds it very hard to believe that monarchy will be brought back. But it already died down like the ashes as the modern era progresses. "That is the most dumbest thing I have ever heard. I don't see the point of having me here." But there's more to the story about the Great War. "Actually, your bloodline has some connection regarding the Great War." He then anecdotes his research. "You see, before I have applied to Atlas Academy, I have discovered something very special about the Schnee bloodline. What I have discovered is that one of the last rulers of each kingdom have a unique semblance. And that semblance, is the glyphs. The very same ones you have. They originally belonged to the last king of Atlas. For you, Weiss Schnee, are the true descendant of that king, which is why I have my intentions to bring you here."
Weiss eyes widened, no wonder for why her semblance is very rare. But there was no record of the last king of Atlas in the Great War. Still, it disgusts her to think people would just used her bloodline for personal gain. Carlos enjoys the shock expression on her facial features. "And you know what, I have decided to marry you. So that together, we can have control on every industry, military, and civilian. Think about it, you and me, as king and queen. And with those podded huntsmen. We'll inject them with a special serum to create a Grimm-hybrid army for us to command and take over all of Remnant. My father had began the project during the time Mountain Glenn was, and your father was involved in this as well. We have student volunteers from each kingdom to test the injection. First, there will be symptoms of pain and agony. Then their limbs will turn black. That's when their humanity will shut down. And your sister was one of those volunteers." Weiss panicked with a gasp. To think her sister wouldn't be fooled much. It hurts her even more that Winter would be subjected to the horrible experiment. Just like the podded huntsmen in the basement. "No, not Winter! You can't do that to those other people! You can't! They're living beings, not guinea pigs! You coward!" Weiss shouts at his face. But to no avail for urging him to set them all free. But Rina was annoyed by this and squeezed her tightly. "Oh, shut up. We owe it all to him."
"You're...going to...ack...do it to me...are you?" Weiss said weakly. She still has the strength to keep listening. Carlos walks back to her to pull out a collar with a glowing green crystal in the middle. And blinking lights of red. Weiss struggles to break from the hair. But it was too late as the hair was about to get loose. But Carlos puts the collar around her neck and she exclaimed in a pit of shock. Her eyes remained opened, like she was in a trance. "You may let her go now." Carlos orders, to which Rina obeys. Releasing Weiss from her grip. Weiss stands in the middle, like nothing happened. Nor did she remember. But it was against her will. Carlos smiles to see her not running anymore. Weiss didn't fight back, and was not being able to move a muscle at will. Carlos knelt down and showed her the ring.
"Weiss Schnee, I will ask you again. Will you marry me?" Weiss didn't say a word for seconds. But the collar seemed to be telling her what to say, as her mind is blocked from the view. She then reaches out her hand. And said the words she is not choosing on her own. "Yes...Master." She responded mindlessly. Carlos took the delight in taking her hand and placing the ring through her finger. Carlos then proceeds to finally kiss her palm. In her mind, she wanted to throw up and leave the place before he controls her life even further. But her body wouldn't let her as it was obeying the collar. "You may return to your room now." Carlos orders. Weiss walks to the direction she left off to the bedroom she slept in. But for what she has left to control, are her tears. Tears that her life is about to be over if the wedding proceeds. While her mind remains locked in a prison mind. She cannot speak at will, or move at will. As Weiss have feared, her fate is about to be sealed.
Neptune... It was the only name that crossed her mind. Knowing she won't be able to see him again.
Author's note: Okay, I know from the comments. I should write more action to it. I am still working on that. But I am glad that the reviewers are citing their opinion. Thank you all. But I am trying to work on that. I was having a bit of trouble of writing the kinds of action. But again, I am still working on it. To the point of the story, I thought this story should be more of a Romeo and Juliet type of story, as a reference to "War of the Capulets and Montagues." As Weiss is ice, and Neptune is water. The former heiress, and the genius expert. Comment you opinions down, if you wish. Like I said, I'll try the best I can.