Winter felt a shiver roll down her spine as she walked into the manor, legs trembling with every step she took. She reached out and took Kleins gentle hand, holding onto it like a lifeline as anxiety started to take hold of her. The entrance was about what you expect, massive. It had a huge crystal chandelier hanging high in the air and a marble staircase heading straight for the second floor. Usually there would be staff standing at attention when a Schnee walks in, waiting for orders. But right now it was just her, Klein, and her sisters dust.
Winkers nose wrinkled ever so slightly as she took her first breath in this home in months. It wasn't that the room smelled bad, but the air smelled way too clean. Like the staff had used so much wood polish and disinfectant that the floorboards had absorbed it, destroying the smell of anything other than lemon scented disinfectant.
"Miss, you must be absolutely famished. Would you like me to make you something? I'm not as good as the chef, as you should know, but something is better than nothing in most cases" Klein said as he gently set Weiss' suitcase down, trying his best to not scuff up the hardwood floor.
Winter let out an uneven breath and slowly let go of Kleins hand. Winter couldn't help but notice how shaky her hands were without his support, so she shoved them into her pockets hoping Klein wouldn't notice.
"After my crappy attempts at cooking, something made by you sounds like heaven" Winter told him, a nervous chuckle escaping her lips. Klein looked at her with sparkling eyes, like she'd told him he'd won the lottery or something.
"In that case, I'll do my absolute best, miss! I'll call for you when it's done! But would you mind taking this up to miss Weiss' room? Normally I would be glad to, but time is of the essence"
"Of course, Klein. I think I can find my way… Probably" Winter joked as she reached over and picked up the suitcase. Klein gave her a small bow before heading off to the kitchen in a rush, leaving her alone with the deafening silence of the manor.
Winter started to hum to herself as she set off towards her sister's room. Humming was something she'd done since she was a little girl, it was a good way to feel a little less alone in these huge, empty halls.
Winter was mostly joking with Klein, she'd grown up in the manor after all and could probably find her way in it blindfolded. But that definitely wasn't always the case. There were more than a few times she would get lost wandering around the halls for hours trying to find her way back.
Ah, those were fun days, lost in the mazes of rooms and halls. True, every few rooms had a wall phone for emergencies, but half the fun of getting lost in the manor was trying to find your way out. The other half was looking for secret passages and rooms.
Winter had found no less than sixteen hidden rooms, twenty-four hidden passages, and twenty-six other random hidden secrets in the house, a total of sixty-six secrets. Some of them were shortcuts to main rooms, others led to nowhere, and a few even had hidden safes that held who knows what! Probably some shady stuff, but who knew?
She'd filled a lot of her time as a kid finding them, and had kept every one documented in a journal she kept hidden. Actually, she kept it hidden in a secret compartment in her room, which was the first one she'd ever found at the young age of six.
It was lost on her as a kid, but it was honestly crazy how extravagant the whole manor was. There wasn't an inch anywhere on the premises that didn't have some decoration, a splash of exotic paint, or some random piece of art that cost more than most people would make in ten years. The whole place reminded her of a dessert that was so sickeningly sweet even Ruby wouldn't eat it.
Winter found herself standing outside of a white door that was decorated with light blue dolphins, Weiss' room. She knew that only one door over was her own room, decorated with light blue birds. The two of them had painted the doors with their mother years ago. The animals still looked incredible years later, and gave Winter a small sliver of peace.
Winter grabbed the door handle and was about to push it open, but she stopped herself at the last second. When Winter had lived here, the two of them never knocked. They always barged into each others rooms whenever. Weiss would always come in while Winter was doing homework, distracting her sister in the best ways possible, bringing some life into her dull room.
Sometimes, when she was little, Weiss would sneak into her room while Winter was asleep and climb into bed with her. Winter knew what she was doing and never complained, it didn't hurt that her sister was a great heater. It was something she'd done a bit after their mother had died too. Even together, those nights were hard.
After letting go of the handle, Winter raised her hand and knocked lightly. Winter stood there awkwardly, shifting her weight from one foot to the other as the silence stretched on. Winter knocked a little louder, but still nothing.
"Weiss, I'm here to drop off your suitcase" Winter called, but the girl didn't answer, "I know you're mad, but could you at least talk to me? Please?" Winter couldn't help herself as she pushed open the door and took a step inside.
Winter flicked on the lights and saw that the room was pretty much exactly how she remembered it. The room was large, with a walk-in closet in one corner that was filled with brand new clothes and shoes, a perfectly made bed sat in one corner, a desk under one of the windows, and… Well, that was it really. No decorations, television, or even any pictures. It was all painted a flat white with nothing really special about it. With how big the room was, all of the empty space screamed out to be noticed.
Winter walked over to the bed and fell onto it, the springs creaking ever so slightly as she did. The bed was firm, just how Weiss liked it, but it felt cold. The bed smelled like detergent, without a hint of her sister's shampoo anywhere. It was as if the bed was brand new or something. Winter sat up in a huff. It all felt so stagnant that it made her skin crawl. It was like the walls of the room were looking down on her for being there, for putting some life into this dead space. She couldn't stand being in there any longer. So she left the suitcase behind and shut the door behind her softly.
Weiss' room hadn't always felt that way, had it? Winter remembered little touches of her sister here and there a few months ago, bringing some life to the room. Winter sighed and scratched her head. She wondered if her room was as empty as Weiss'. She'd tried to give it some personality when she was here, but maybe she hadn't.
The more she thought about it, the more she realized that her room in the city was pretty much the same as Weiss'. A bed and clothes, but not much else. She slept there, but she never really tried to make it her own. Maybe she should?
Winter walked down the hallway and opened her door without hesitating. Why should she knock for her own room after all? She knew what to expect, a bed like Weiss' in the corner, a well used desk, closet half full of clothes she didn't have time to pack, maybe a few things here or there she forgot, but nothing special. Boy was she wrong.
Inside her room was the picture of life. Most of the lights were off, but on her desk there was a lamp that was still on, illuminating papers covering almost every square inch of it, all of them meticulously organized. There was also a small laptop pushed into the corner of the desk that had tons of stickers from random bands all over it, but none of them overlapped. This stuff sure as heck wasn't hers, and that warmed her heart.
The walls were the same white as Weiss', but new shelves had been hung up and were covered end to end in books. Most of them were text books, but scattered her and there were mystery, fiction, and some sci-fi. Winter guessed that Klein or one of his friends had done this small favor for her sister, and she was grateful.
Something that Winter had never expected was a huge poster hanging over the bed. Winter recognized the poster, probably from a cd cover she had years ago. She couldn't place the name, but Winter was positive she knew their music intimately.
Winter jumped onto her bed and instantly felt at ease. It was made just as Weiss', but it felt more lived in. The bed was warm, soft, and she could make out the smell of her sister's lilac shampoo in the pillows clear as day. She looked around the room and felt a sense of pride in her sister. She hadn't been bowing to everything their father had been commanding, she was being rebellious in her own ways.
Winter stood up off the bed, ridding it of any wrinkles before she moved on, her sister would probably kill her otherwise. She walked into the closet and found that Weiss had added a few pieces of her own clothing, making Winter smile for some reason.
She walked over to the back of the room, going to the corner of the room besides a shoe rack. She pushed a section of the wall in, and it popped out without any effort. The hole in the wall wasn't big, about as big as a textbook, and lined with some felt, just like a pool wasn't much of a secret, but it was enough to push a young Winter to explore the whole house. For the record, no other closet in the house had something like this. She checked.
Inside of the hole was a small, lined paper notebook that had a question mark drawn onto it, her book of secrets. It was filled end to end with everything she knew about the house. A part of her had hoped her sister would've stumbled across it by now, but Weiss didn't seem interested in games like that anymore. Still, a book of hidden stuff might come in handy for Weiss now,
Winter grabbed the book and flipped it open, and what was inside made her heart stop beating. It had been years since she'd needed to look in this book, so she had no idea when she'd put it in there, but inside was a picture of her, Weiss, and their mother.
It was a simple picture, Winter looked like she was about fifteen and Weiss looked like she was five or so. Their mother, Willow, looked like an angel. She wasn't sick yet, and she still had her strength. She was tall, elegant, full of life, with a huge smile on her face as she wrapped her arms around her two daughters. They were in a field of grass, but she forgets where they were exactly. Her father had taken the picture, and she remembered him grumbling about it the whole time. Winter wiped a tear from her eye as she took the picture and put in in her backpack along with the book.
Winter closed the compartment, and left the closet. She was about to leave when something caught her eye on the desk.
She walked over and saw a ripped up piece of paper in a frame. The paper had been taped up as best as it could be, but it was still obvious that someone meant to destroy it. It was the paper that had started all of this mess, her masters degree in child psychology. The paper that let her work as a therapist with Dr. Ironwood. Last she'd seen of it, her father had ripped it to shreds in front of her, telling her how she'd stolen thousands from him and how she was getting shipped off to a real college to get a real degree in the morning.
Winter put her hand up to her face and could feel the sting of his slap, and she flinched like it was more than just a memory. Winter didn't feel anything as she looked at the paper, no pride, no hate, nothing. But looking at the tape, the frame, the care that had gone into repairing it… That brought even more tears of joy to her eyes.
It was one thing for her sister to say it was ok to do what you wanted, to live your life. But something about her picking up those pieces, trying to fix it. Winter knew her sister was proud of her, that she loved her, that she wanted her to live her own life. Because if she didn't those pieces would probably be in the trash right about now. Winter turned around and left with a smile on her face and warmth in her heart.
Winter made her way down to the kitchens, finding Klein hard at work. He was so focused he didn't even notice her. The whole kitchen smelled like cooking pork, fresh baked bread, and roasting peppers. Winter felt her stomach grumble and felt herself blush when Klein turned to face her.
"Miss Winter, what a pleasant surprise! I was about to call you, dinner will be ready shortly! I'm glad you're hungry" Klein informed her with a smile as he checked whatever was in the oven.
"I was hoping you'd miss that" Winter sighed as she put a hand up to her cheeks and felt the heat. "Should I call Weiss?" Winter asked with trepidation as she leaned on a wall, watching Klein work. "I'm afraid not. Miss Weiss has already eaten tonight and doesn't eat much to begin with" He sighed as he turned off the stove. Winter nodded, noticing how somber he sounded.
"Go take a seat while I plate, miss. I'm excited to show you how my skills have grown in the past few months!" Klein beamed as he waved his hands at her, shooing her out of the room. Winter couldn't help but chuckle at how excited he was for her to eat his food.
Klein wasn't a bad cook, not at all. His only real problem in the kitchen is that he tends to go a little… Overboard. Say you like salty food and he covers it in salt. Is something too burnt? Next time he undercooks it. Say you're hungry, and well… Let's say you'll be full pretty soon.
Winter felt her stomach rumble even louder, and she felt her mouth water as she stepped into the dining room. The room consisted mainly of a long, dark oak table, that could hold at least eight people. Now, this wasn't to be confused with the room they used when guests were over, that could hold up to twenty people.
The table looked empty now, just like it had the past few years. It was tolerable with four people there, but three was just too few for a table this big. Winter and Weiss always sat besides each other, trying to make it seem a little smaller. But their father always sat at the head of the table, as far away from them as he could.
Winter sat down at the corner of the table, and tried her best no to imagine Weiss and her father sitting here in awkward silence every night. Maybe that was why she hadn't been eating much?
Her train of thought was interrupted by Klein busting through the kitchen doors, his hands filled to the brim with food. The smell would've knocked Winter off her feet if she'd been standing. There was pork chops, fresh biscuits, soup, salad, and even some pasta for good measure. He set all of it down in front of her neatly and softly before he set down a plate and all of the proper utensils. She had no clue how he managed to carry it all, but she couldn't care less right now, her stomach was going crazy to think about stuff like that.
"Here you are Miss. Please enjoy" Bowed Klein, as he turned and walked away.
"Actually, Klein, I had another request" Winter hesitated, but she wanted to ask.
"How can I help?" He asked with a smile as he turned around.
"Would you mind sitting with me? I know father always said you weren't allowed, but it would just be really lonely if-" babbled Winter, but before she even finished her sentence, he'd pulled out a chair and was taking a seat next to her.
"Anything for you, Miss" He nodded, crossing one of his legs over the other neatly with a smile. "Don't wait on me, dig in" He joked, motioning to the forgotten food.
Winter liked to think of herself as a lady, born and raised to be the epitome of class. But the second she got a taste of Klein's food, years of etiquette and training was out the window. She tore into the pork, and drowned herself in the soup while she munched on bread. She was a beast, and that was pretty ok.
Klein asked her questions about her life in the city, and she was happy to answer between mouthfuls of food. She told him about work, Amy, Earl, how the lights sparkled at night and how the city sang her lullabies every night with the sound of cars. She even told him a little bit about the girls, but not enough to breach confidentiality or anything. Then, he asked a question she never thought he'd ask.
"Meet any boys?"
Winter's face exploded in heat as she took a bite out of her bread, "Klein! Doesn't that seem a bit too personal?" it was a flimsy defence at best and they both knew it, but Winter had to at least try to preserve her humility.
"It's a simple question. You live in a big city, see tons of eligible men every day, surely one must've caught your eye by now?" She could swear there was a sparkle of amusement in his eyes as he watched her struggle to form words.
"I mean, sort of, but not really. Well, I guess, but… Ugh, Klein, I don't think I'm cut out for dating" Winter muttered in despair as she leaned back in her chair.
"I do believe I speak for everyone who's ever dated when I say, you aren't the only one who's felt that after a first romance" Klein chuckled as he patted her arm comfortingly. "Tell me why you don't think you're cut out for dating"
"I just… I can't really do it right now. He's someone really close to one of my patients, and it's not exactly ethical if I pursue it, right? I don't wanna lose my job, I don't wanna hurt him, and I don't wanna hurt my patients. But at the same time, it hurts every time I think about him I can feel my heart skip a beat… I'm not sure what to do" Winter sighed as she put her hands over her eyes, trying her best not to lose it. Klein sat in silence as he watched her, a sad smile on his face that only someone with a lot of wisdom could have.
"I wish I could tell you what would be best, but truthfully, I'm not really sure. I'm not smart enough to figure out a solution that fixes everything. But what I do know is that sometimes, risks are worth it. I don't know if this is one of those times, but you're a heck of a lot smarter than I am. I know you'll figure out what's best. You always do" Winter lowered her hands from her tear filled eyes and couldn't help but grin like a dumb kid.
"You know, I've been crying way too damn much in this house for how little I've been in here" Winter laughed as she wiped her eyes on her sleeves. "I'm not sure if I'll figure out what the best thing to do is, but I guess I should come to a real decision, shouldn't I?"
"That seems like a good first step, miss. I think you're well on your way" He smiled as he patted her on the arm again.
Winter stood up, her belly more than full for the first time in a long time, "Thanks again for the food, Klein. I've really missed your cooking. But I think it's time Weiss and I talk"
Klein blushed a little at the compliment, and turned away from her for a moment as he rubbed his eyes dry. Winter couldn't help but chuckle at the sweet man.
"I think that would be wise as well, miss. I believe she should be in her room studying by now" Klein told her, standing up alongside her.
"No, I think I know where she's at. Goodnight, Klein, I'll see you in the morning" Winter nodded, genuinely thankful,
"Of course, Miss. I'll have breakfast ready for you when you wake up. I know I've already said it, but it truly has been great to see you again" Winter pulled him into one more quick hug before she started to walk down the huge halls of the manor again. She made the first left, heading straight for the north stairs.
-Authors note-
Ten points to Behnbailey for being the first to get it! Yeah, it was the vol 3 premier! But five points to the guest who got it, and one point to TigerNinja16 and Combine117 for participating! Sorry if I missed anyone who guessed! But I hope everyone's enjoying this part of the story, seeing Winters home. I hope I'm getting everything across clearly and it doesn't feel too bloated. If anyone has any questions or wants me to clear anything up, just post a comment, I read them all. Hope you guys have a good week!