They're coming back soon, Weiss thought, uneasy. I want to leave this prison more than anything, but...
Full of anxiety, Weiss laid on her bed and stared up at the white ceiling. It was only a matter of days before her life would change forever.
It would be a life of freedom. Life on the sea with her friends.
She was eager at the prospect, but hesitant.
There were many risks if she escaped the Schnee mansion. The company. She was the sole heiress of the multi-billion lien dust company. Because of this, she was frightened of what her father might do when he inevitably finds out she had left.
Even more worrying, her pirate friends had no idea who she was. They had no clue what they were getting into by accepting her as a crew member. It would be a matter of time before Jacques would send people to capture her and drag her back to this hellish prison.
I would be risking their lives, Weiss thought. For my own selfish gain.
The last thing Weiss wanted was to put her friends in danger. Especially if that could be avoided.
Her smile…
It was then that Weiss remembered the captain's grinning face. Ruby Rose. The dolt wouldn't take 'no' for an answer. She was determined to get Weiss out of the toxic household.
Despite only knowing her for a few months, Weiss felt she could trust her. She trusted all of them. They had already saved her life twice now.
Only a few nights ago, Weiss almost…
In a trance, the heiress rolled over and spotted her switchblade on the desk across the room. Her wrist was pale and pristine like nothing happened.
To think she was so close to finally ending it...
The blue flare. If it was a second later-
A knock on the door snapped her out of it. The knock compelled her to open the door.
While true she could leave her room, she didn't want to risk being seen. Any movement would be reported to her father, and harsh punishment would follow.
When she returned to reality, she noticed another plate of food on the floor. They'd been stacking up. The meals were left by her one of her father's many slaves. A few days ago, a faunus tried to convince Weiss to eat, but they'd given up when she adamantly refused.
Truth was, she was too anxious to eat. The next few days were full of the unknown. She had to prepare. Determined, she shut the door and headed into her closet to grab a suitcase.
Flashback…
"What the…"
This was the last thing she expected to see in the middle of the night.
The only reason Weiss was even out here was to get some fresh air. Sometimes, she'd come out by the beach to clear her head. She'd been here many times. Not once had she seen… this.
Only the calm waves reached her ears as a salty breeze graced her cheeks. With the moonlight, she was able to pick out a waving fabric at the highest point of the ship.
Pirates?
What entailed was a slew of stereotypical thoughts. Weiss had only heard horror stories about pirates. They were bad people. People especially Schnee's don't associate with. They weren't even people. They were scum. The lowest of the low.
They steal, they vandalize, they cheat.
Then again, Weiss had never met a pirate. She got these ideas from her father and various stories.
She didn't want to instantly think these pirates were a threat, but for the most part, they weren't exactly good news.
Oh no, Weiss thought. If they're here, then that means-!
Somehow, the pirates must've found out where the owner of Schnee Dust lives. She had no doubt they were planning on robbing them in some elaborate scheme.
She was about to turn tail and run back home to save her father, but stopped herself. Wait, why would she care if her father got robbed? Or even killed? The man was a curse. The sole source of all her problems. The source of tons of people's problems.
If Jacques was gone- that would be a whole new world. She may not be able to escape her last name, but she could be rid of him.
Weiss shook her head to stop the train of thought. It would be a huge burden off her shoulders if he were to die, there was no denying that. But he was her father. She wouldn't let him die if she could stop it.
With resolve, Weiss whirled around to go back to her house-
Until she was forcefully shoved down to the sand. The impact was so forceful that it strangled the air out of her lungs. A gasp flew out as a huge black mass straddled her. A few high-pitched yelps sounded over the ominous growls. Vicious red eyes targeted her like prey. As the beast readied its jagged claws, Weiss held up her arms to protect herself from a lethal swipe-
But no pain came. The sound of a blade cutting through paper lingered as the beast growled one last time. The broadhead rolled off its body and plopped onto the sand.
From the suddenness, Weiss gasped and struggled to breathe when the body of the ursa collapsed on top of her. Specs of the corpse slowly chipped away as her adrenaline surged.
"I got you!"
She was so startled by it all that she didn't notice when someone grabbed her hand. The stranger yanked her to get her out from under the beast. All Weiss could do was catch her breath and glance around.
"Ohmygodareyouokayareyouhurt?!"
Confused by the random girlish voice, Weiss finally met her savior's gaze.
Under the moonlight, silver pools twinkled like the stars in the sky. Weiss found herself drifting in them. Apparently, the stranger felt the same way about her blue eyes since she was speechless.
The girls only stared for a brief moment. Calm waves were a sweet melody that danced with the shattered moon. Behind the stranger, her red cape fluttered and joined the harmony.
"I-I'm fine," Weiss chimed to end the silence, noting the girl looked dazed. "Thank you for saving me."
The stranger's head tilted like a curious puppy when she heard Weiss' voice. To her, it sounded angelic.
"You don't have to thank me," the red-cloaked girl replied. "Are you sure you're okay?"
To prove she was, Weiss stood without her help and showed her her pale arms. No marks.
"I'm fine."
After the red-cloaked girl examined her, she glanced around. No more threats. Noting that, she collapsed her scythe into its compact form.
From the sight of the weapon, Weiss was intrigued. How could such a small girl wield such a huge weapon? Her muscles had to be a force to be reckoned with.
"That's good," the red-cloaked girl said. "I was worried I didn't reach you on time. That ursa almost ripped you to shreds. That would've been so bad Idon'tevenwanttothinkaboutit!"
A white brow perked from how eccentric this girl was. It was past midnight, and here she was all energetic and slicing up grimm like it was nothing.
Briefly, Weiss glanced at her hip, where the compact scythe resided. "That's an interesting weapon."
"My Crescent Rose is unbeatable!" the red-cloaked girl exclaimed. "Grimm tremble from looking at her!"
"I wield a rapier myself," Weiss said, hoping that would give her something to latch onto. "It's very-"
"Ohmygoshthat'ssocooli'veneverhandledonebutwouldlovetotry! They'resothinandsharpthoughtheylookprettyfragile- oomph."
Naturally, Weiss used her fingers to shut her mouth. This definitely caught the red-cloaked girl by surprise.
"May I inquire your name?" Weiss asked, releasing her.
"Oh right, my bad," the red-cloaked girl sheepishly said. "My name's Ruby. Like the jewel. Yours is?"
"Weiss."
"Weiss," the girl repeated, liking how it rolled off her tongue. "I like it. It's a pretty name."
"Ruby," Weiss addressed, glad she knew her name. "Why is someone like you out on the beach in the middle of the night?"
Briefly, silver orbs flashed to the ship just behind Weiss.
Weiss blinked.
Before Ruby could answer, a monotone voice joined the conversation.
"We could ask you the same thing."
The new voice belonged to a faunus girl. It was nice to see a faunus so liberated. All Weiss' life, she'd only interacted with faunus that were slaves. But this girl- she was free. Her dark hair blended in the night while golden eyes pierced the darkness. Next to her, there was a taller blonde girl with wild hair.
"Who are you?" Weiss asked, skeptical.
This group was odd to say the least. The black and yellow pair looked like complete opposites. All three of them adorned worn-down clothing. Their jeans were ripped, but not because that was in style. Their shoes had seen better days.
"I'm Yang," the blonde girl introduced. "This is Blake."
The faunus said nothing and kept her arms crossed.
"Ruby, what trouble did you get into now?" Yang asked in suspicion.
Frantically, Ruby waved her hands. "It wasn't me! An ursa jumped her! I only helped her out a bit!"
Briefly, Yang scanned Weiss' appearance. She was clean aside from some sand clinging to her. The clothes she adorned were clearly from the upper class since they were a silk material.
"Ya know, princess," Yang said in a lecturing tone. "You should have a weapon on you. It's not safe to be alone at night. Especially with grimm around."
"I suppose I should've brought my rapier," Weiss admitted. "From my experience, grimm don't venture to the beach. I'll be sure to bring my weapon from now on."
"Ah, I really wanna see it," Ruby said happily. "Is it the kind that holds dust?"
"Yes, it holds dust," the heiress answered, excluding her title. "I'm curious, what is a group like you doing… here…"
Her voice trailed off when Weiss answered that question for herself. The vacant pirate ship had been in the corner of her vision this whole time. It didn't take a genius to put two and two together.
"You're pirates?"
She tried to keep her voice neutral, but it sounded somewhat cautious.
"Yep," Ruby chirped without a care in the world, which caught Weiss off guard. "We're a small crew, but they're the best."
A white eyebrow rose. Weren't pirates supposed to be rugged men? Weren't they supposed to stink to high heaven and drink non-stop? These girls didn't even look intimidating!
Yang nodded to back her sister up. "We mainly sail around, see what's up. Makes for some great stories."
"I'm not trying to be judgemental," Weiss said sincerely. "But how do you get money? Are you here to steal? Is that why you anchored here?"
Ruby sheepishly rubbed the back of her head. "I guess we do kinda play into that stereotype a little, but we're here for the food in town. My uncle knows the best place, so he's getting some for us."
"We're always lil low on cash," Yang admitted. "It's kinda annoying."
Blake sighed from the mention of no money. "We have to figure out what we'll do for more soon."
"Yeah…" Yang grumbled.
If they're low on cash, I can help them, Weiss thought. I owe them for saving me.
Easily, Weiss grabbed the items from her pockets.
"Here, for your trouble."
In her hand were several gold coins. From the sight, the pirates lit up in delight. Their jaws almost dropped in disbelief.
"Ah! That's so much!" Ruby exclaimed. "Y-you sure?"
A nod.
"But why?!"
"I owe you for saving me," Weiss said like it was obvious. "Think of it as a 'thank you.'"
"This'll last us for weeks!" Unable to contain herself, Ruby threw her arms around Weiss in a crushing embrace. "Thankyouthankyouthankyouthankyou!"
For a moment, Weiss only stood there. She had no idea how to react. She guessed she was supposed to return the hug, but she could hardly breathe.
"R-Ruby, get off me you dolt!"
Realizing she was suffocating her, Ruby hastily separated.
"R-right, oops sorry, Weiss!"
From the sight, Blake simply smirked. "Ruby and Yang's hugs are deadly. Looks like you had to learn the hard way."
That earned a few giggles.
"Hey," the blonde said solemnly as she gazed at Weiss. "You sure we can take the money? It's a lot."
Weiss nodded, thinking this amount was nothing to her from where she came from. It would, however, help the pirates immensely.
"It's the least I can do. If you run low again, maybe you can come back?"
Overall, Weiss found the conversation pleasant. Growing up, she didn't have the chance to be around girls her age. Now that there was an opportunity to make friends, she wanted to take it. Even if they were using her for her money.
"Are you positive?" Yang asked in disbelief. "You hardly know us and you want to keep giving us money?"
"As I said before, I owe Ruby my life," Weiss said evenly. "Take the offer or leave it."
Since she wasn't an expert at making friends, her icy shell tended to prickle through. Despite the sudden bite, the three pirates didn't seem to mind it.
Nervously, Ruby twiddled with her fingers and her cheeks turned red. "If you want, but I just wanna see you again."
From that, azure orbs widened as her lips parted slightly. Someone actually wanted to spend time with her? Someone wanted to talk to her? They didn't want to use her for money?
"Then come by again soon," Weiss said warmly. "I'll be waiting right here."
"Okay!" Ruby eagerly replied. "Count on it!"
Suddenly, there was a screech in the distance. Sounded like it came from a bird.
"We gotta go," Yang said when she spotted a dark bird in the sky. "Thanks'a ton for the money," she sent her a sunny smile.
"Yeah," Ruby agreed. "We'll seeya soon, Weiss!"
From a distance, Weiss watched them hop into the ship.
For the first time in a long time, Weiss was looking forward to the future.
The chapter title is based on the song Lost In Thoughts All Alone by Amalee. "Pray that we may quell the dark. Light take the throne. Lost in thoughts, all alone." As you can see, there's a few things Weiss needs to prepare before she can leave.
Stay dandy,
~Toto
