Winter was used to living in luxury; living as Atlas' royalty made sure all her needs and wants were catered for without having to even consider what it cost to achieve these whims and desires. Winter, however, hadn't often liked to flaunt her immense wealth or fortune; instead finding peace with ensuring that she deserved such privileges to the best of her ability. Her father had of course loudly protested as his daughter came to him with the proposal that she spend time training with the Atlesian Specialist Division, or ASD as they were often called. This had come to no surprise to her as she was, after all, supposed to be the heiress to the Atlesian throne. However, like most obstacles she faced, she had overcome her father's insistence by offering several logical rebuttals to his arguments and recommendation from powerful individuals in her father's court.
Her father had always been a controlling man and it was no secret that she loathed him; having many times considered stealing away with her siblings and leaving him along with the family name, after siphoning some of the fortune away for herself of course. Her siblings, however, were not so easily made aware of the atrocities that were committed at his command within Atlas, and she dared not leave them to deal with him without her, fearing for their minds and futures under the unfiltered poisonous beliefs that he would instil upon them. It was bad enough that they seemed to have adopted his racist beliefs concerning faunas, let alone if she hadn't been there to at least water his words down.
Luckily her sister, Weiss, was going to beacon this year at the age of seventeen going on eighteen; hopefully there she would have her eyes opened and ego curbed slightly. Though she prayed she was let down softly, rather than torn apart quicker than she could cope with. Her brother, Whitely, however, was too young even to do that, and would likely spend the majority of the next few years alone with their father. She shuddered at the thought but swallowed her feelings on the matter, she just hoped that the boy was able to see through the tinted glass their father portrayed the world through. Whitely was intelligent so she had hope that he could do it but was prepared to sit him down in the future and correct his views, by force if need be.
Winter surveyed the garden around her, taking in the rows upon rows of perfectly conditioned bushes and flowers that were only broken by the white, ankle-height picket fences that marked the borders of the stone tiled path for people to walk on. She currently sat in a large wooden gazebo in the centre of the massive garden, watching as various servants went about priming hedges, offering service to her or watching the Branwen Manor's rear walls that came into view some hundred meters in the distance. Winter could never bring herself to like these gardens either in Atlas or Vale, the way they were organised so perfectly it often bothered her. It reminded her that even nature itself, seemingly, couldn't always find a way to resist the whims that man often imposed on it. However, she had decided the tranquillity it offered was required for the meeting she was about to sit through and, though she was loathed to admit it, it was a good place to come and think every once and a while.
An out of place movement caught the edge of her gaze and she turned her head to see Bartholomew wander his way down the paths of the garden towards her. He walked with a slight urgency that seemed to add a few centimetres to each step, but also was visibly trying to hold himself back from acting too quickly or accidentally tripping on something, with his gaze often looking down to the path to check for uneven ground. Of course, the action was pointless, the groundsmen would never such an imperfection into their garden, but she thought the display as he stiffly walked over was… cute.
The professor was wearing a brown suit jacket that fit neatly around his upper torso, only showing a small amount of the white shirt that was buttoned up underneath and tucked snugly into long black trousers that stopped perfectly at the edge of his lower ankles. The outfit was accented by a burgundy tie that was, for once, properly done so that the tail couldn't be seen hanging out or jutting from an odd angle. His hair had seemingly been combed but clearly refused to be tamed as she could see that as it got further back it became more unruly and the straight lines from the comb had become blurred. Winter had to admit, the man cleaned up well, he was definitely not perfect; his shirt poked out from his trousers on one side and his glasses were seemingly steamed up, perhaps from running part of the way here, but she preferred it, him even, this way. It reminded her that he was a person, with feelings and goals, rather than the mindless, self-interested sycophants that filled the majority of her father's court. She couldn't help but don a warm smile as he approached.
"Your highness! I am terribly sorry; the traffic was terrible and my niece was going to meet the prince and king, and I was worried so I waited and…" he made to continue his rambling but was cut off by a light giggle that escaped the princess. He looked up to see where her mood came from only to see her looking straight at him with one hand hiding her open mouth as she chuckled.
"I beg your forgiveness professor. It's quite alright, you see; you are actually an hour early." The historian's eyes widened suddenly as he peered down at his watch. It displayed the time to be a few minutes after midday, their meeting having been scheduled for one p.m. He pulled at the collar of his shirt for a moment before speaking, all the while the princess fought back to giggle at the display.
"Apologies your highness, I will see myself out, I did not mean to waste your time outside the appointed time slot." He bowed slightly, clearly not used to doing so, before turning slowly. Winter flinched at his response and leaned forward to place a hand on his shoulder to stop him from leaving. However, his step was larger than she had anticipated, his legs being a fair bit longer than her own and she leaned too far in order to do so, causing her to stumble.
The grounds staff snapped their heads towards the gazebo as the sound of a high-pitched yelp, accompanied by a deeper grunt and the sound of bushes giving way to heavier weights, the twigs snapping and leaves rustling. None of them expected what they saw. There, splayed out on the expertly maintained lawn, was the crown princess of Atlas laying atop a slightly dazed and dishevelled man with green hair. The shell-shock wore off quickly and those closest immediately assumed the worst as they beheld the two struggled to get up without furthering the awkward situation, many running over to check the princess' health and safety.
Bart had seemingly frozen in place as he took in his surroundings. At first, he was disorientated, barely managing to make out shapes in the blurred mess of colours that had taken grasp over his vision. After a moment, he ran his hands out along the grass he had fallen onto, eventually feeling the slightly warm metal of his glasses' frames. As he blinked and his vision cleared up, he saw what had fallen on top of him, and his brain shut down as he beheld the very close, very attractive Atlesian princes try and fail to untangle herself from the bush and him. All the while she worked, she wore a deep red tint along her cheeks. It was after the first groundsman made it to them that he recovered and made to amend the situation.
"I am so sorry! I must have tripped and…" he stood in an attempt to aid her getting up, but she had been only half off him and so fell once more when her footing had been suddenly moved. There was another squeak and grunt as they feel back onto the grass. He raised his head to look at her but all he could see was the top of her head as she led face down in his shirt. Then he heard it, a sound escaping her lips as she moved to get up.
He immediately feared the worst; he wasn't sure what had happened, but he was currently flailing around on the lawn with Winter Schnee, Crown Princess of Atlas. The Schnees had a history of striking out at anyone that they had considered to have wronged them. There were rumours and stories of family members and co-workers disappearing over night after coincidentally having earned the ire of the Schnee family and its members. He flinched as she was seemingly shaking on top of him, barely able to control her anger. He was doomed, she could pin anything on him, his fingerprints were likely all over her from their struggle and he doubted any of the grounds staff would testify on his behalf, or risk losing their own heads. His musings were cut off as she raised her head up from his shirt and met his gaze, she was… laughing?
It was true, as he beheld her, she was letting out a bout of hearty laughter, even as the groundsmen helped her to her feet and fussed over her now soiled clothing and hair. He simply stared dumbfounded, unable to tell if she was sincere or not at first, but after she offered a gloved hand to him, he realised she wasn't overly bothered by what had transpired, maybe even having enjoyed the ordeal. A part of him sighed in relief as she visibly fought to contain her giggling fit, another part was screaming at himself for letting such a thing happen regardless of outcome, but most of him struggled with tearing his gaze away as he watched her recover, some sort of weight having been lifted from her shoulders.
"What on earth for?" the words were still occasionally broken up by giggles as she spoke. "Has anyone ever told you that you think too much?" For a moment he simply stood there, confused, before finally letting a smirk of his own reach his lips.
"Eccentric I believe was how I am often described, but yes." They smiled at each other for a long moment, however, were eventually pulled from their shared gaze by someone clearing their throat of to their side. Winter blinked frantically before turning to the source of the sound, only to be met with the sight of butler with his fist politely in front of his mouth.
"Excuse me your highness, but is there an issue? Are you injured in anyway?" Winter simply raised a hand to halt his questioning before she gestured to the professor who was now trying to dust off his suit but failing to make even small improvements.
"It's quite alright, a simple accident that ended rather embarrassingly for both me and the good professor here." She knew the butler; he had come with her from Atlas and reported directly to her father on developments that happened whilst she was visiting the kingdom. She didn't like him much, knowing her father payed him handsomely to remain in his pocket and wouldn't defect for anything short of a small duchy. "I shall clean myself up in a little while, after I have concluded my business with my guest here." The butler looked the scraggly man up and down disapprovingly before frowning at the princess.
"Understood your highness, though, I feel it may be worth reminding you of your engagement to the crown prince of Vale, your father would not take kindly to jeopardising that arrangement by frolicking in the garden with someone of lesser breading." Winter visibly soured at the butler's words and levelled a withering stare at the man. Bart wasn't sure if he should feel intimidated, but he certainly did not envy the small ginger man who the icy glare was pointed at.
"I will 'frolic' with whom I wish, father is well aware I am no fan of this arranged marriage, though I hold nothing against the prince, it has come to my attention he doesn't currently have room in his heart for another such as myself. Regardless, I told you it was a simple accident. Now leave us." Her voice had grown noticeably irritated as she continued to speak and there was no attempt at hiding the venom in her last command. To his credit the butler seemed relatively unfazed, but after a moment he nodded slowly and began walking away.
"As you wish your highness." His voice carried its own underlying venom, but it was heavily watered down as he did as he was bid. As he left, he walked past Bart and murmured under his breath. "Spoilt bitch." Bart caught the words and glared daggers of his own at the passing butler, who made no effort in explaining himself, Winter having seemingly not heard. Once the man was out of sight the princess turned back to him.
"I'm sorry about that, my father is very conscious about the frailty of my engagement to Qrow, and will not risk the unison under any circumstances, it's too profitable for him to lose the asset willingly." She sighed but was surprised when Bart spoke up.
"Why not call it off? Surely in this day and age you aren't actually under any kind of duress." A sad smile donned the woman's lips as she moved to sit back at the Gazebo table, which he slowly followed her in doing. She seemed to think for a moment before meeting his eyes.
"Whilst it is true, that he likely could not disown me, nor strike me at my current age and due to my own power within his court, the same cannot be said of my siblings. If I were to turn down the marriage proposal, he would simply go to my younger sister and talk her into accepting it in my stead." She sipped at her tea which had gone slightly cold from being left for too long, though she didn't even register the taste as she continued. "I may not like what my future may have in store, but I refuse to throw her into that. The relationship is awkward and strained enough, now imagine if I were, instead, a confused teenage girl wanting nothing but my father's approval marrying a man over twice my age and was constantly under pressure to bear a child to solidify the union. All so my father can have his own weapon like the Branwens do." The handle of her tiny ceramic cup snapped off in her hand, though she didn't seem to notice. Bart, whilst feeling slightly out of his element, felt the urge to at least try and comfort her.
"I'm sorry." He mentally smacked himself for apologising again but continued before she could say something about it. For a moment he looked for anything to talk about and take her mind off her fate that she seemed to be so desperately fighting against. His gaze flicked to her cup and instinctively he spoke. "How do you take your coffee?" The princess visibly flinched at the sudden question, which seemingly had no place in their previous conversation, though quickly put two and two together. Her smiled returned this time a little more mischievous than before.
"I much prefer tea over coffee." She struggled to contain her chuckle as Bart visibly twitched at the words, likely considering them treasonous. To his credit he pushed his, now slightly crooked, glasses further up his nose before retrieving his thermos from seemingly nowhere.
"I will pretend I did not hear such blasphemous utterances from one so cultured such as yourself." There was his own playfulness in his tone as he adopted his imitation of the butler that had not long left. The professor fished a handkerchief from his pocket and thoroughly cleaned the brim before pushing it towards her, making a show of the action. "Now drink, let the ambrosia wash away all of your misgivings and build your taste buds anew." Winter failed to contain her laugh, but after a moment obliged the gesture. She was met by the sweet taste of sugar and familiar tang of coffee both of which were subdued slightly by cream and something else.
"Is that whiskey I can taste?" he nodded knowingly as she subconsciously took another mouthful, this one larger than the last. He seemed smugly victorious and she rose to the challenge. "Not bad, however," Bart's expression visibly dropped," it is far from beating the best tea I have tasted". She poured an extra cup from her teapot she had been using and gestured for him to drink. Reluctantly he complied. His eyes subconsciously rose, and she noticed how he didn't immediately stop drinking after a moment. Winter laughed. "Perhaps it is not as profane as you first let on." The professor frowned but didn't reply immediately and she noticed how the cup he put down was empty.
"I have no idea what you are insinuating, that whole experience was repulsive, I simply decided it was best not to waste something offered to me by my host." Winter's eyebrows rose further, silently questioning him. His façade broke and it was his turn to laugh at the ridiculous look she was giving him. "Perhaps I should take you to a proper establishment another time and show the true superiority of coffee." There was a challenge in his eyes as he spoke, along with something else… warmth. Winter chuckled again.
"I would like to see such Sisyphean task, after all maybe after failing you can see the magnificence of the far greater beverage." Bart's grin spread from ear to ear as they spoke.
"Careful, such large and plastic words are going to be hard to eat when I succeed." Their challenging gazes met for almost half a minute before both let out small chuckles and decided to return to their respective drinks. After a few more minutes of idle chatter, which Winter strangely found herself enjoying, the princess decided it was time they got to the business at hand.
"I suppose I should explain why I asked you to meet me here, whilst the conversation has been enjoyable, it was not my original intention." Bart slowly nodded, realising the change in tone in the conversation and letting his mind take a more analytical view as his companion continued. Winter breathed deep before speaking. "I'll cut straight to my point; I believe I may have something that is both beneficial to your niece and to myself and a friend of mine." Bart grew visibly guarded but let her continue before speaking. "I assure you I do not mean to use her as a tool, gods know I do not want to become my father, but instead think of this as more of an offer in both our interests." Bart motioned for her to continue.
"You see, my friend happens to be the general of the Atlesian military, General Ironwood, perhaps you've heard of him." Bart nodded and she continued. "Well, about a year ago, he and a few trusted others came to me and requested funding for a project that they did not want my father to hear of. After some convincing I decided to oblige them, what they suggested was rather intriguing and I have more money than I need anyway." She stopped to let him take the information in.
"Okay, but how does this effect either me or my niece, let alone benefit us in some way?" he seemed both sceptical but intrigued simultaneously, something she knew only someone as eccentric as himself should be capable of. She sighed and mentally prepared herself, dismissing all of the nearby staff in order to grant them complete isolation.
"Well, what I am about to tell you cannot, and I mean cannot leave this table, understood?" he seemed slightly taken aback by her rather forceful tone, but she could see the fires of his curiosity only grew. He nodded slowly. Good enough she supposed. "The project, or P.E.N.N.Y as it is now referred to, was put together by a brilliant scientist by the name of Dr Pietro Polendina. About a year ago the good doctor lost both his wife and daughter in mass shooting in Atlas. He was left distraught and many of his friends were told to watch the man and make sure he didn't do anything drastic in his grief. However, like usual, the doctor's mind amazed us all, he had managed to contain his daughter's soul, or most of it anyway, and put it into a robotic body." Bart could feel his eyes bulging as he looked at her disbelievingly but let her continue. "In his paranoia over loosing his daughter again, the doctor granted her new body something to ensure that she would never be left defenceless again. He gave her a Grimm mark." The professor spat up some of the tea he had been drinking as she finished her sentence, luckily none landing on his host.
"You can't be serious. I mean, how can a machine possess a Grimm mark? Surely it requires blood and machines do not bleed, none that I have seen anyway." She could see his mind race at a thousand miles an hour, trying its hardest to figure how such a thing could come about. In another situation she may have laughed again. Instead she breathed deeply and spoke.
"It turns out, that Grimm marks have their power rooted within the strength of an individual's soul. It is true that the blood itself is poisonous to most human bodies and such is why only a select few are capable of wielding a mark, but in her case her body is immune to all poisons, being an android means that all she has to have is the willpower to control the Grimm and an ample supply of Grimm blood somewhere within her body." Slowly, Bart nodded along, thinking of all of the implications this news had and how it could affect his views on the marks.
"I see, but, whilst this information is appreciated, I still fail to see where this impacts my niece." Winter poured herself another cup of tea before the professor drained it all and sipped slowly before continuing.
"Normally, this would be fine, unorthodox and dangerous, but otherwise fine. However, the doctor would take no chances on his daughter again. So… after spending an exorbitant amount of money, he found the strongest known specimen of Grimm blood in all of Atlas and used that for the procedure." She waited for the historian to react, but he simply sat there staring at the table, seemingly transfixed with his own thoughts. After what felt like whole minutes passed, he finally made a sound.
"Are you suggesting, we have the two meet?" The professor looked cautious but also intrigued. Perhaps this could be beneficial, the girl would be kept out of sight from the Atlesian king and could potentially have help controlling her power like what had happened between Ruby and Nora, and Ruby would have someone that could withstand her getting a little serious, letting her burn off her power if she went too long without using it. Winter nodded.
"I take it you're interested?" The question burned a hole into his head as he pondered over and over again of the possible consequences. It was dangerous, if the new girl's Grimm didn't submit to Ruby's a fight could break out and he was confident that, if what Winter said was true, the whole Branwen family would have to be mobilised to stop it. Even then he wasn't sure of that would be enough, at least not without avoiding severe civilian casualties. However, it was also potentially his only chance to allow Ruby a real way to vent her power, something he knew was growing increasingly difficult for his niece.
"How would they meet?" at this Winter donned another grin, knowing he had all but vocalised his agreement.
"She's actually already on her way here." Bart looked confused at first before it dawned on him what was happening in the near future. "At her own request we are allowing her to enrol at Beacon this year, both to help her grow in combat and to improve her… less than stellar social skills."
Bart nodded, but inwardly screamed at the revelation. He had prepared for the coming year to be a big year for him at Beacon. He nieces would be attending as freshmen, the Xiao Long child was already a first second year in the coming semester, not to mention the list of other applicants this year. However, now, he had to worry about a potential kingdom wide war breaking out if a pair of likely emotionally charged teens disagreed too much. It seemed he was not meant to have the easy life he craved so deeply. The thought made him grin from ear to ear. Who am I kidding? It wouldn't be my life if it didn't threaten to kill me or worse every few minutes. He turned to his companion, smile on full display. She returned it.
My coffee may need more whisky this year. He looked down at his thermos and then again to Winter. Though, I do hear that tea mixes better with alcohol.
An: Sorry that this one is a little later coming out, I've had a busy last week and a half and only found time recently to properly sit down and write. I hope it doesn't make the chapter any less enjoyable. I hope you enjoyed and as always any feedback or constructive criticism is welcome and appreciated.
I know I said I would release a new story, but on popular request from some real life friends that read my writing, I will hold off on releasing a new story until I have gotten further into this one and can be sure of my ability to make time for another and update both regularly.
-Tabaxi