Cold. She wasn't sure why, but Winter was freezing, her body shivering violently. She wanted to go grab a blanket or something, but her legs wouldn't work, like they were dead weight. Winter didn't really care, accepting the situation for what it was, hopeless. She felt something slide down her face, and realized she was crying.

She heard someone say something, but couldn't make out what and couldn't be bothered to look. Her eyes were glued to the floor, half in focus.

She felt something cool touch the side of her face and flinched slightly, but didn't move after that. Compared to the rest of her body, this was nothing. She felt something warm wrap around her shoulders, which helped fight off the horrible cold, if only slightly. Winter felt someone play with her hair, a lot like how her mom used to. She felt more tears fall, but couldn't move to wipe them away.

Whatever was wrapped around her suddenly vanished, leaving an empty feeling in her chest in its stead. Then, something white moved in front of her eyes. Winter felt something warm and soft gently touch her face, and it made her feel safe and secure.

The white blob came a bit more in focus, and Winter noticed that it had sparkling blue eyes, filled with concern and stars. It was a girl.

"-ter, can you talk to me? Winter, can you nod your head if you can hear me" The girl asked, her thumbs moving up and down ever so softly on her cheeks. Winter thought about doing nothing, but the girl sounded desperate… So, Winter slowly nodded her head up and down, exactly like she'd been told. "Good! Good, ok, good. Winter, can you look at me?"

What an odd request this girl had. But seeing as Winter had nothing better to do, she looked at the girl. When she did, the girl came into clear focus, and Winter realized she was looking at her sister.

"Weiss," Winter croaked, her throat felt raw and her voice sounded harsh ad rough.

"Great! That's so good Win! Ok, now how about we stand up, ok?" Weiss pleaded, reaching down and putting an arm under her sisters, trying to help her up.

Winter thought it was dumb at first, there wasn't a need for her sister to help her, but when she tried it on her own, her legs almost gave out.

"Careful there, Win. Come on, let's get you to the bed," Weiss directed, helping her sister wobble over the few steps to her bed. Weiss heaved as she set her sister down on the bed, panting with the effort of carrying her sister, who was a good bit bigger than her.

Winter reached down and started to rub her legs, questions at the tip of her tongue. Before she got one out though, she realized that something felt… Wrong. Looking around the room, Winter saw that all of the lights were on, but something about the lighting was off from what she remembered. Her eyes stumbled onto the window, where she saw the nights sky and stars glimmering across the horizon.

"That can't be right. Weiss, why's it so late already? We had breakfast, like, an hour ago," Winter complained, her eyes scouring the window for any sign of the sun.

"Winter, I'm not sure what you remember, but you've been sitting like that all day," Weiss explained, her voice breaking as she bit her trembling lip.

"What do you mean, all day? It was just daylight outside a minute ago!" Winter argued, pointing at the window"

Weiss looked away from her, but forced herself to talk anyway, " Win, you haven't moved in hours. You've been on the floor looking at- at the floor, for hours. I wasn't sure what was wrong," Weiss blubbered, tears streaming down her face.

Winter watched her sister, guilt welling up in her stomach. All day? Winter thought, knowing that her sister was right but hoping she was wrong. But how else could the sun have already set?

Winter reached out and grabbed her sister's hand, pulling the girl into her lap and wrapping her arms around her shoulders. Winter realized then that the warm thing that had been wrapped around her earlier was her sister's arms.

"It was so scary, it was like you were gone" Weiss cried, pulling her sister tighter, "I wasn't sure what to do, you didn't even look like you were hearing me" Cried Weiss, her hands wrapped around Winters shirt, holding on like her life depended on it.

I was in shock, that's why I wasn't moving. Thought Winter, terror in her heart. She looked down at the shredded paper on the ground, and everything came rushing back to her. She felt like crumpling on the floor again… But she knew she couldn't.

"I'm sorry, Weiss, that must've been a lot to deal with. You did a great job and I'm back now. Honestly, I don't think I could've done any better, and that's my job" Winter chuckled, patting her sister on the back.

Weiss pulled away and wiped off the tears from her face, taking deep breaths trying to get control of herself. "Winter, you need to leave" She said suddenly, her eyes were hard but full of sadness.

"What? Why?" Winter asked, confused and hurt that her sister would say something like that.

"You heard what father said, he's shipping you out of here in the morning. Neither of us want that, so… you should leave. Tonight,"

Winter opened her mouth, but had no idea what to say, "W-Where?" Was the most eloquent thing she could think to say. Winter wanted to fight what her sister was saying, but deep down… Winter knew she was right. She had to leave.

"Call that Iron guy right now and take him up on his offer. Or maybe you could go somewhere else and look for a job, but somewhere that's not here"

"Weiss, it's the middle of the night. Even if he picks up, I don't think-"

"Winter! I love you, but we don't really have time to argue. If you don't call him, father will make sure you can never work with him, so what's the worst that could happen? Call him, please, and tell him it's an emergency" She begged, her hands balled into fists. Winter looked at her sister, sighing as she pulled out her phone. She thought about grabbing the business card from her wallet, but she'd already memorized the number.

Winter dialed the number quickly, anxiously waiting for an answer. All it took was two rings. "Dr. Ironwood, how can I help you?" Said a kind, deep voice on the other side of the phone.

Winter sat there, silently stunned. She hadn't really thought he would pick up, so she didn't exactly know what she was gonna say. "Um, hello Dr. Ironwood. I'm not sure if you remember me, my name's Winter," Her words stumbled out with all the grace of a drunk bear, but he didn't seem to mind.

"Of course I remember you, how could I forget? What seems to be on your mind, Winter?" he asked her, she could almost hear the smile in his voice.

"Well, um, awhile ago you offered me a job and I was… I was wondering if I could accept" Winter gulped while Weiss gave her a big smile.

There was a moment of silence on the other end of the call, but right as she got nervous, he talked, "Of course, we'd be glad to have you, Winter"

"R-really? You mean it?" Winter beamed, her mood suddenly skyrocketing, but there was a shadow of doubt in her heart that left her feeling worried and scared.

"I never joke about things like this. When can you start?" he asked calmly, but Winter was feeling anything but. Winter looked at Weiss, who was mouthing one simple word to her,

"Monday?" Winter said, not thinking.

"That soon? Guess you're excited to start. Why don't you come in on Sunday and set up your office first? Call me in the morning and we'll iron out the details?"

"That sounds amazing! Perfect! I'll call you then!" Winter beamed, her heart pounding, making her feel alive.

"I'll see you in Vale on Monday," He said before hanging up.

"Wait, Vale? Like, the city Vale? Dr. Ironwood?" Winter puzzled, not sure if she'd heard right.

"What was that about Vale?" Weiss questioned, scratching her head.

"I.. I gotta move to Vale. That's where the job is" She breathed, not sure what to think.

"Win… that's incredible! You're finally living your dream!" Weiss jumped on her, giving her a huge hug, but Winter wasn't all that happy.

"Weiss, Vale's a long ways away from here. It's not like it's up the road where I can still visit on the weekends," Winter looked up at the ceiling, feeling tears coming one more time.

"But Win, this is your dream! It's gonna stink not seeing you all the time, but we can still talk on the phone and stuff! I'm just so happy for you, you finally get to live the life you want!" Weiss smiled, tears in her eyes as she hugged her sister tightly. Winter was about to grab hold of Weiss, but her sister pulled away quickly.

"First things first, we need to find you a place to live down there and fast. We don't have much time, so how about you do that while I start packing up your clothes?" Weiss asked, but was already running to Winter's closet.

Weiss was moving swiftly, grabbing what she knew her sister liked and what she thought she would need on her own. Winter sat back and watched her move and a feeling of loss started to crawl around in her belly. It burned, and seemed to leave her feeling empty, but watching her sister move with so much determination filled her with hope. So she walked over, booted up her laptop, and got to work.

The next few hours flew by. Winter wasn't sure where she found them, but Weiss had managed to find a good few boxes to fill with her possessions. Winter had found a cheap, one bedroom apartment, right near the downtown area. But, it didn't feel right. She looked at her sister, speeding around her room helping her pack, and smiled. Winter sent a deposit over for a small two bedroom apartment that was cheap, but also looked modern and homey.

"That doesn't look too bad. You could probably afford something a bit… Nicer though. I mean, you have your own bank accounts, right?" Weiss noted as she looked over her sister's shoulder.

"I guess that's true. But something about using the money he gave me, it doesn't exactly feel right anymore, you know?" Winter remarked, tapping her chin with a finger.

"So you just aren't gonna pay your deposit?" Weiss asked her, a small smile on her face.

"Oh, I don't think he'll mind paying first and last month's rent. But I think once I start getting actually paid, I'm gonna try and rely on that as much as I can. I wanna actually be independent, ya know?" Winter asked, leaning back in her desk chair.

Weiss looked at her curiously before smiling, "Yeah, I think I get it. Please, just promise me if it comes down to it you'll use the money he gave you? I don't want you to be so stubborn that you end up going hungry or kicked out of your apartment" Weiss complained, making Winter laugh.

"Ok, ok, I promise. I just doubt I'm gonna be splurging on anything fancy" Winter chuckled as she wrote down the address of her new apartment building. Winter shut down her computer and packed it away in her backpack.

Winter looked around her room and thought of anything else she might need. Weiss had done her a huge favor and packed up most of her clothes, she didn't really need any of her old textbooks, she had her computer and phone, but really, what else did she need?

"Do you think I'm good?" Winter wondered, walking around her room trying to think of anything else she might need.

"Your toothbrush, combs, and makeup are all packed. Speaking of which, you might wanna put some makeup on that before you leave" Weiss was pointing to her face, but Winter wasn't sure why. Then the memory instantly flooded back into her mind and she felt the sting on her face again.

Winter walked into the bathroom and noticed the large red hand print on her face, "Oh… Right," Winter said, almost in a daze again.

"Here, let me" Said Weiss as she pulled out her own makeup, having Winter sit down on the toilet while she worked. The sister sat in silence, Weiss masterfully applying makeup While Winter sat there, lost in her own thoughts.

"Is this really happening?" Winter suddenly questioned, the last day not really catching up with her yet.

"Yeah, it is. You're finally leaving the nest, going off to live your real life" Weiss gave her a sad smile, her brush dropping for a second, "I'm gonna miss you so much"

Winter's heart broke, but she forced a smile on her face anyway, forcing the tears down so they didn't ruin her sister's handiwork, "You know I'm gonna miss you too… Maybe you should come with me?" Winter suggested, not joking. Weiss opened her mouth, but closed it and shook her head sadly.

"I can't. You know if both of us left he'd hunt us both down to the ends of the earth. Besides, i still have some stuff I wanna do here. But we'll see each other again soon. I want you to go live a little though, enjoy your life and forget about your clingy little sister for a bit, ok?"

Winter laughed as a tear slipped out, "You know I can never forget about you, you're way too fun to make fun of" Winter couldn't help but glow as she watched her sister laugh again, something she probably wouldn't get to see for awhile.

"Oh, well I'm glad you care so much about me" Weiss chuckled as she examined her work. One nod later, Winter was back in front of the mirror. Instead of the red mark, there was now… Nothing. Her face looked as good as new. It still stung, but at least now nobody would say anything.

"Dang, not bad,"

"This is nothing. If you ever let me do your full makeup you'd look straight out of a fairy tail" Weiss confidently stated, flipping her hair back and crossing her arms.

"You know I don't like stuff like that!" Winter whined, but she couldn't help picture herself looking like a dazzling princess, "Ok, next time I promise I'll let you do it" Winter relented, enjoying the excited look in her sister's eyes.

"I guess it's time for us to pack up the car" Weiss sighed, looking at the stacks of boxes that Weiss had moved next to the door, " …They look heavy"

Winter laughed as she watched her sister struggle to pick up a single box, but was interrupted by a knock at the door. Both of them stopped dead, and Winter started to shake as she looked at the door. Weiss looked at her, gesturing for her to get the door, but Winters feet were planted firm. She wasn't even sure if she could move.

Weiss seemed to understand, walking over and grabbing her sister's hand, squeezing it and looking at her with confidence, showing that she wasn't alone. Winter took a deep breath before she and Weiss walked to the door and opened it carefully, like it was made of glass.

Standing outside of their door was a very somber looking Klein, "Hello, Miss. I hate to intrude, but I couldn't help but overhear your plan when I came to check on you earlier. I imagined this would be of service?" He nodded to his left, where Winter noticed a large, flat cart. Winter had seen these used to haul tables and chairs around whenever they had big events in the manor.

"Huh. Yeah, that might help a little" Winter acknowledged with a small nod.

"Thanks Klein, we thought you were father for a sec there" Weiss admitted, letting go of her sister's hand and trying to grab another box that was way too big for her.

"I understand. thankfully Sir Jacques is busy in his office. For now, let's make haste while we can" He ducked into the room quickly, grabbing three boxes like it was nothing before setting them gently down on the cart.

The three of them worked fast, and in no time at all the cart was packed to the brim with boxes. Winter and Weiss were panting, but Klein seemed to be totally fine, despite him doing most of the work. Was he that strong, or were they that weak?

"Alright, let's go to the garage. Unless there's anything else you'd like to see or take with you before departing, Miss Winter?" He questioned, a small smile on his face.

There was one thing that Winter wanted to do, well, one person she wanted to see. But it was almost sunrise and they were raising against the clock. As much as Winter wanted to, she didn't have the time to tell her mother where she was going.

"No, let's get going" decided Winter, setting off with Klein and Weiss.

It was normally a relatively short walk to the garage, but because of the boxes they'd need to take the long way with the service elevators. Winter wasn't sure why, but the longer the three of them walked, the more awkward Klein seemed to become. He wouldn't look at her and didn't talk, despite him usually being the pinnacle of life and conversation.

"Klein, is everything ok?" She wondered as they walked, wanting this settled before her departure. Klein looked uncomfortable, but shook his head.

"I'm so sorry Miss. All of this was my fault. I had a feeling what that letter would be, but still took it to you with your father present. If I'd simply waited a few minutes, then everything would have been fine. Curse me" He spat, grief and anger at himself infused in every word he said.

Winter reached out and grabbed his shoulder, "I was the one who asked you to do it, and there's no way you could've known that father would actually ask about it. I mean, you could say aliens existed and the man wouldn't ask a question about it" Winter chuckled, "It's nobody's fault, so there's no point in blaming yourself. He was gonna find out sooner or later, and at least we made it this far" Winter smiled, meaning every word she said.

Klein looked at her before looking away, wiping his eyes, "You're going to be a wonderful psychologist, Miss Winter. That is something I know for certain" And without another word he continued on.

A few minutes later, they were opening the doors to the garage. Now, most billionaires have massive car collections that they don't drive and are only there to collect dust and to be bragged about. Her father was exactly the same. He never drove himself, yet insisted on having the most expensive and rare cars money can buy. End to end was decorated with some of the most expensive accessories you could pay for. But right at the end, in the far corner, sat Winters humble bug.

Her father had wanted to get her something sleek and stylist, something that would make all of the other heiresses cry with jealousy. Her mother on the other hand wanted to give her a more humble car that was cute and wouldn't make her stand out as much. Can you guess who won that battle?

They got to the bug quick enough, and started to pack it full of boxes in silence. The whole trunk, back seat, and passenger seat ended up getting totally filled with boxes. "Is it legal for me to have this much stuff in my car? I mean, I can hardly see out of my rear view" Winter questioned as she tried to move some boxes and get some more visibility.

"I believe it is, but I would highly recommend going under the speed limit, just in case" Klein winked.

"Even if you get pulled over, all you gotta do is wink at them and they should let you go, right?" Weiss added, causing Winter and Klein to laugh.

"It wouldn't hurt to throw in a few tears as well," Klein chuckled brightly.

"Come on guys, all I have to do is smile and I'm home free," Winter gave them her best, seductive smile, which succeeded in making them both burst out laughing, including herself.

After that, a small silence filled the room. It felt like it was choking them, but at the same time, none of them wanted to break it. Klein coughed into his hand, bringing both of their attention to him.

"I have a present for the both of you," Before he unceremoniously pulled two phones from his back pocket, handing one of them to each of the sisters, "New phones that your father has no connection to. They might be a little old, but they can get the job done. Plus, they have every phone number you might need in case of an emergency" Winter opened up the phone and found that there were only two numbers saved in it, Weiss and Klein.

"This is perfect, Klein, Everyone I need is in here. Thank you… You have no idea how much I'll miss you" Winter walked over and pulled the butler into a hug, which he gladly returned.

"Don't be afraid to call me if you ever need assistance with anything, or if you simply want to talk. It's been an honor watching you grow up into such a fine young woman, Miss. I will truly miss you" He pulled her in tight for a second before taking a step back and nodding to the two of them, "I'll give you two some time alone" Then he took the cart, and left the sisters by themselves.

They looked at each other awkwardly, neither of them really sure what to say. But together they smiled, and walked into an embrace.

"Please be safe out there, and call me as soon as you get to your apartment, ok?" Weiss blubbered, crying for the thousandth time today.

"I will. Be safe here too, keep a lookout for your father's temper. And you have some homework from you big sis, make sure you goof off at least once a day, ok?"

"Ugh, fine, I guess I can stomach that, but only for you" the sisters got quiet one last time, simply enjoying the warmth shared between them. It was warmth that had kept both of them going for so long, that had kept them both happy in a place that was stifling and boring, that wanted to crush their wills. But they had survived together, but now they didn't have that luxury anymore.

"I love you, Win" Weiss mumbled, burying her face in her sister's side.

"I love you too, dork. I'll see you soon,"

"Wow, what a great thing to call your sister before leaving" Weiss chuckled through her tears, both of them letting the other go.

"Right? I thought so too. Oh, and could you do me a favor? Tell mom what's going on?" Winter asked, her voice cracking.

"I will, don't worry" Weiss smiled, as she watched her big sister climb into her car.

Winter smiled in her car, trying to look brave or confident, but knowing she was doing a lousy job of it. She wanted to do anything else but shut that door, wanted to stay with her sister more than anything… But in the end, she had to close the door.

No, she didn't want to leave, but she did want what was in front of her. A job, a career, a future, maybe even some real friends? She didn't think about what she was leaving as she started the car, she thought about her future, and all of those exciting unknowns that she craved.

She waved to her sister as she drove out of the garage, both of them smiling, not knowing what the future would hold. She watched as the manor grounds slowly disappeared behind her, the monstrous building turning into a spec in her rear view mirror.

Winters ears perked up, thinking she heard something different in the engine, but didn't pay it any mind. She'd been driving this car for years and nothing bad had ever happened with it, so what were the chances of something actually going wrong with her car? She had a long way to go before she got to Vale, but she could already feel her heart pounding. Winter watched the sun slowly rise over the horizon, illuminating Atlas and making it look like a painting. It was the perfect way to start her first day alone.

-Authors note-

One more psa, if someone is abusive like Jacques, please tell a trusted professional. These past two chapters were pretty intense, but I hope you guys enjoyed seeing what it was like for Winter before the story started. If you guys have any questions, comments, or anything else, please leave a comment, I read them all! Thanks again to everyone who's read up to this point and continues to read this long af story, I'm trying my best to make it as best as I can!