"Welcome back, Weiss Schnee."

Her heels clicked loudly as she walked elegantly through the hallway. A slightly overweight butler walked behind her, keeping pace as she handed him her belongings.

"Thank you, Klein. I'll be heading to my room now. I would like no disturbances."

"I'm afraid not, dear Weiss."

She stopped to turn back at him.

"I'm sorry, but your father demands your presence. He seems to have another Fiancé ready for you to meet."

"Again?"

"Unfortunately, yes."

With a huff, Weiss continued through the maze-like house, stopping outside a large door. Without knocking, she barged in.

"And that is why- Ah, Weiss, how good to see you, my dear daughter!"

Jacques Schnee, known to the world as the current President of the Schnee Dust Company, stood from his table as he warmly greeted his daughter. He smiled as he hugged her tightly.

"Make a good impression, my dear," he whispered, voice as cold as ice and sharp as knives. If it wasn't for Weiss's frosted attitude, she would have shivered from hearing him.

"Of course, Father." Weiss rasped back, just as cold as he had.

They let go of each other just as quickly as they had hugged, smiles dancing across their faces, yet their hearts were completely iced over towards each other. Jacques turned to the young man seated in a chair, who seemed to be eager to introduce himself.

"Ah, yes, this man is your Fiancé."

Weiss groaned within herself. Another rich pretty boy who presumably thought his wealth spoke for him and therefore he could do what he wanted without restraint. He probably already had three other women within his harem; trying his luck with her would either get him killed or broken. Like every other rich prick that had made her way into this house.

She wasn't getting married to some idiot affluent playboy. She probably wouldn't marry at all.

"Ah, Weiss Schnee, it is wonderful to meet you."

Weiss felt as if she was damaging her lungs every time she breathed in his wretched smell of expensive perfumes and luxurious fragrances. It was enough to make her want to hurl. He raised her gloved hand to his lips to kiss it lightly. She felt disgusted just allowing him to do it. Unfortunately, her father was watching intensively so it wasn't as if she could just lash out.

'Time to change these gloves... Again.'

"I see you've been out and about. Hunting, perhaps?"

Her father tried to cut in, to steer the conversation away from where he knew it would lead.

"Yes-"

"Indeed, I have been hunting."

"Oh, you do?"

"Yes. Hive, Grimm, Fallen. Whatever threatens our peace."

The boy (he was clearly one, there was no way he was a man) winced but his face quickly reshaped into a lopsided smile. As with all boys like him, he was quite disgusted that she was doing such a menial task. Clearly, peace had been too good for him. He probably didn't even know how to defend himself.

"You are a Guardian?"

"A Warlock, yes. It runs in the family-"

"I think that's enough for now."

Her father finally interjected, clearly not very happy as Weiss could tell from his presence and aura. But the man in front of her was simply too oblivious to what was going on between father and daughter.

"Weiss, why don't you got and freshen up? You must be very tired from your hunting."

"Why Father, thank you."

Weiss curtsied in mockery, a dark smile glinting on her face, before leaving while making sure to slam the door shut just hard enough so that her father would know she was pissed off.

"Now then, what do you think of her?" Jacques said, turning to the man sitting before him. His grin was wide, even including teeth.

"Ugh, honestly, she's way too condescending of people her own status."

The man took off the skin of his face, revealing it to be a mask, which revealed a completely different person. He had a nasty scar, two tear marks going across his face. One diagonally across his nose and the other across his cheek from the left part of his mouth all the way to his ear. they had both healed, but the scars themselves seemed to add to his somewhat wild nature.

"But, she'll do. I'm sure she's good enough."

Jacques leaned back, seemingly happy with himself.

"Then she's all yours."

The man laughed.

"Thanks then. I'll enjoy taking her from you."

Ugh, useless idiots who only care about money. Can't dad just leave me alone for once?"

Weiss kicked off her heels and lay on her bed, tired from all the drama that happened that afternoon. Dealing with the enemies of humanity was where her stamina was easy. Her sister and drilled into her all the techniques of the Schnee Clan and increased her lacking stamina, somewhat. Dealing with her father was something she just couldn't anticipate. He was just different, from every Monster she had faced.

A knock on the door made her groan, but as it was opened she quickly gave a smile.

"I brought you some tea and confectionaries, my little snowflake."

Klein arrived with a tray, coming to the table nearby and placing it down to dish out the cup of tea to her. Weiss moaned in happiness as she sipped. She hadn't realised she had wanted something so bad until she had it.

"Thank you, Klein."

"Anything for my beautiful little snowflake."

"Anything?" Weiss queried, raising an eyebrow. Klein cleared his throat as he spoke once more.

"As long as it doesn't cost me my job."

They both laughed at the joke, enjoying the soothing environment around them. Weiss walked over to the large window as she sighed and looked towards the garden.

"Now tell me, my snowflake. What has you so down?"

"It's the usual. Father being a complete prick as always. Wanting me to marry some chump from a high-class family of frauds just so HE can gain some more money. Like I want to be a fucking trophy wife."

"Now, now dear. Calm down."

Klein brought his hands to her shoulders, lightly massaging them.

"Your father may be an absolute cunt and definitely not a human being..."

Weiss chuckled as she relaxed.

"As well as a complete fraud without feelings... However, soon it will not matter. You will run this company and run it as you see fit. Change can simply start with you."

Weiss was finally relaxed as Klein's large hands left her body.

"If you need anything, call. I will be making dinner soon."

Klein left silently, taking the tray and cups with him. The door clicked shut behind him. Weiss sighed once more as she looked out of the window, towards the frozen garden. she wished she could be as free as the birds of the air, caring not for money or power, but simply living as best as they could.

"You could be just like them."

Weiss instantly jumped back as she turned around, forming a spear of ice in one hand. Her brother was hanging from the ceiling by the chandelier. With a flip, he fell to the floor elegantly; not making the slightest sound. It was the benefit of being a hunter.

"What do you want, Whitley?"

"Why so startled, big sis? Scared?"

"Coming from you, that's an understatement. So what do you want?"

Whitley giggled at her, his eyes opening to stare coldly at his elder sister.

"Oh, nothing much, my dear sister. Just a warning."

Weiss was still on guard, keeping the spear of ice to her chest.

"Honestly, rela-"

"There's nothing honest about you Whitely, so get to the point."

He was now sitting on her bed, a leg crossed over the other as he smiled. But Weiss knew that his smile was as dangerous as his abilities.

"I guess you're right, elder sister."

He brought out a knife, looking at it elegantly.

"I came here for your benefit, y' know. It almost makes me think you don't appreciate me."

"Stop stalling."

"Ugh, fine."

He walked over to her and grabbed her hand, pulling off the glove. Then he stabbed it, straight through the fabric, a small glow being emitted before vanishing. Weiss raised an eyebrow until he answered.

"A little bug was trying to enter our conversation."

Weiss was surprised. She hadn't felt a bug on her hand and nobody had touched her-

"That guy... He's not as stupid as he seems."

Weiss remembered. That man had kissed her hand. How he had planted a bug, she didn't know, but for once she was thankful for the cunning as a snake brother of hers. Even if he had tried to kill her.

Thrice.

"Anyway, I've come to tell you. Father has prepared something for you. I suggest you take your blade. After all, that thing doesn't look it can be taken out with your bare hands. It's quite the monster, but if you properly analyse it, I'm sure you can defeat it."

He flipped back up to the chandelier as he giggled.

"After all, you're the heiress of the Schnee Clan."

He disappeared in a flash of electricity, his childish giggles still echoing across the room. Weiss sighed heavily as she dispersed the icicle in her hand. She had been holding her breath, yet she hadn't even known it. She quickly became combat-ready, putting on her heels and ensuring her Katana was filled with enough dust within its dial. Another knock on her door sounded.

"Enter."

"Ms Schnee..."

Weiss bit her lip as a slim and tall man entered, bowing towards her. He was her father's direct assistant; his right-hand man. Yet, all this man ever seemed to give off was the scent of cunningness, unlike anything she had ever witnessed. Even her father didn't seem to have the aura of treachery and evil that this man had.

"You may rise."

He rose elegantly, pushing his glasses up once more. He smiled as he relayed her a message.

"Your father has called for you. He would like you in the Arena, promptly."

He spoke with such grace, but she knew his tongue was just as sharp as any double-edged sword. She walked past him without answering, heading into the elevator and going downwards into the underground arena.

This was a place that her Father mostly did experiments on. He tested dust for their attributes as well as how well they did against Grimm. This would determine how well they had mined and if they were of the highest quality. Then they would be sold out to the public and other rich people that had invested into the business. Dust was something of everyday use, but it wasn't cheap.

"Heiress, I wish you luck."

A crypt voice crackled over the speakers within the elevator. She rolled her eyes in annoyance from her father's assistant. The elevator came to a shuddering halt and she walked out into the Arena. Stationary robots were brought to life slowly, clanking and whirring as they activated their systems and began to attack. Weiss sighed in exasperation.

She breathed deeply as she stretched out a leg behind her and bent forward, had ready to unsheathe. The dial span and quickly switched to lightning dust.

Schnee Style; Lightning Sword Art: Thunderclap

In a flash of electricity, Weiss disappeared and reappeared across the arena, now sheathing her sword. The robots turned to her direction and began to run towards her until they fell in half and ceased to move again. She breathed outwards and slowly relaxed.

"That was merely a warm-up, my dear."

Weiss heard her father talk through the speakers and looked up to see a stage where he was standing. Beside him was his assistant taking notes as well as another man she didn't recognise. He had some scarring but other than that she didn't care.

"Really father? How would you know? I've never seen you warm-up before."

The man with scarring sniggered silently behind her father, who merely rolled his eyes. He was used to his daughter's mockery and teasing.

"I merely let you experience a little combat and you're the best of the best, are you?"

Jacques clicked his fingers and his assistant obeyed, pressing a few buttons on his Scroll to operate a large shutter on the far side. More lights clicked on to show the spectacle.

"I have a little present for you, Weiss..."

A giant suit of armour, in a kneeling position, seemed to awaken slowly, standing to full height. It pulled its sword out of the floor, twirling it a few times in its hands before finding its opponent.

Weiss.

"I hope you enjoy it. Or else it will enjoy you."

The hulking armour jumped towards her, bringing down its blade in a fast slash towards where she stood. Weiss' eyes widened but she was able to dodge with minimal difficulty.

'Fast!'

It turned towards her, lifting its sword from the crater it had made and attacking with a barrage of slices. She parried, which was much more difficult than she expected.

'Strong!'

"It's an Arma Gigas with a few control-type Grimm stuffed into it. We wanted to test a few of the limits of Grimm. Hopefully, you will help us achieve an answer?" Her father sneered, a smile appearing on her face. The man behind him looked at the battle with a stern face.

Weiss attacked back, the dial on her katana spinning rapidly. She slashed at the wrist of the Arma Gigas, making it lose balance, before attacking once more in a flurry of slices. It used its hand to try to grab at her, but instead, she dodged and ran up the arm, slicing at the shoulder. Her attack hit the joint and the arm fell down heavily.

"She's smart, that's for sure." the scarred man murmured.

"Of course. She wouldn't be Heiress if it wasn't for her talents."

"Yeah, but..."

The arm moved, throwing off Weiss and reattaching itself to the suit. Weiss looked in fear and surprise.

"She's still got quite a bit to learn."

The Armour was clearly learning from her attacks, as it was not as offensive before and switching its style of attack more often, from wide arcs to thrusts and stabs. It was getting harder to find an opening. The armour tried kicking her away, but she was too small to do something that needed such accuracy. Using its unbalanced position, she moved behind it and slashed at the knee joint, but it decided to try and land on her instead, in the form of a body slam.

"Oh no, Weiss. Do you seem to be having trouble?"

Weiss rolled her eyes at the mocking tone and continued her assault. As it got up it tried to swipe at her with a hand, which was sliced off cleanly. Weiss didn't back up; instead summoning several glyphs at once and jumping across them as she struck, pushing back the armour. Feinting another parry in mid-air, she used a glyph to jump over the sword swing and attack, thinking that the Grimm had lost its balance.

It did not.

A giant metal fist smashed into Weiss' body, sending her flying across the arena and skidding across the ground. Her ghost began to attempt to mend her, yet she got up on shaky legs and pushed it away.

"You need healing! Let me fix you!"

"No. I don't think I will."

"But if I don't heal you soon, that scar... It'll be permanent..."

"Even better. I'm going to kill this thing right now."

The Ghost returned, as Weiss breathed and calmed her body. The Grimm advanced towards her, its thundering steps getting closer and closer. The words of her sister echoed in her mind. The dial of her katana whirred at a phenomenal speed before settling on fire Dust. Her Katana turned bright red and flames began to flicker across it.

"Don't think."

Closer.

"Don't feel."

The Grimm swung downwards upon her.

"Just do."

In a flash Weiss moved, the Grimm missing its target by inches and being caught off-guard. It looked for its target but didn't see Weiss behind its head, standing on a glyph and wings of fire growing from her back.

Schnee Style; Fire Sword Art: 1000 Inferno Slashes

Waves of fire rained down upon the Grimm before it even had time to think about defending itself. Just as it was trying to recover itself from the attack, Weiss was attacking again.

Sword Art 3 Technique 2: Expanding Ice Bolts

Weiss dashed across parts of the Grimm as she sliced multiple times, far too fast for it to try and even catch up. The ice she had spread out quickly expanded and exploded across its body with extremely hot steam pouring out of it. Finally, Weiss stood in front of it, Katana ready to unsheathe. She got into a position once more.

Schnee Style; Lightning Sword Art: Thunderclap and Flash

Weiss sliced through the Grimm, landing on another side as a whirring sound began to grow. Finally, the Grimm exploded in a show of electricity, just as she sheathed her sword once more. She turned to the stage where her father, the mysterious man and the secretary had been. Her father was furrowing his brow once more as the Secretary tapped across his Datapad. Meanwhile, the mysterious person was clapping sincerely.

"I'll take my leave now, Father," Weiss announced, as she began to leave. She stopped once more, a smirk on her face.

"I trust you will be a man of your word, right, Father? You did promise."

Her father was now grinding his teeth at her, but calmed down soon enough.

"Of course, my dear."

With that, Weiss left the Arena, leaving behind the leftovers of Grimm that evaporated behind her.