A/N: First off, I'd like to thank everyone for their encouragement so far; it means a lot and motivated me to power through and finish editing this chapter. That took much longer than I anticipated, so that's why this is being posted so late. Enough with my rambling, time to get on with the story! I do not own RWBY.
Princess Weiss Schnee stepped through the palace's entrance, making sure to be as quiet as she typically was after returning from her rounds. Klein Sieben, the royal family's primary butler, was waiting for her as expected. He bowed as she approached and made sure to make a show of glancing around them despite the empty halls, almost as if to reassure the white-haired woman of their privacy.
Klein whispered, "Your family wanted to wait up, but I made sure to let them get some sleep and reassure them of how capable you are." He gave her a cheeky wink before shifting his expression into a more serious one. "Truly though, Princess, you mustn't stay out too late. It was difficult to convince your family to rest," Weiss bowed her head and nodded. She sighed and began to head towards her room, her butler following close behind. While they walked, the two began to confide quietly.
"I apologize for my tardiness, Klein. I didn't realize how late it had gotten, and the civilians always have reasonable concerns. How else am I to truly comprehend the impact that my father's decisions have on the people and obstruct anything that may do more harm than good?" Weiss chanced a glance at the man next to her, who still sported a displeased expression; she could see the hint of a smile forming though and counted that as a win.
As they approached the door to her room, Weiss recalled the dust crystal she had brought with her earlier that day and reached into her cloak pocket. She furrowed her brow when her hands closed on air and scanned her surroundings to make sure that she hadn't accidentally dropped it. After failing to locate it, she internally panicked and reflected on the day's events.
Klein sensed her anxiety and placed a comforting hand on her shoulder. "Are you alright, Princess?" He was surprised by how disconcerted the royal looked and waited patiently as she seemed to gather her wits. Finally, she turned to face him, and he could see how resigned she was.
"Klein, I might have misplaced something and need a favor." The butler scanned Weiss' worried face and felt familiar protective instincts well up, but before he could reassure her, another voice spoke up from behind them.
"It's a pleasure to finally see you again, sister." The butler and the princess whirled around to find Prince Whitley striding towards them, his hands clasped behind him and a smug smirk on his lips. Klein bowed and heard Weiss swear under her breath before she switched her expression into one of cool indifference.
"Whitley. You should be in bed right now." The princess did nothing to hide her discomposure at being caught and possibly overheard.
"How could I sleep when my dear sister was still out and possibly in danger?" The prince stepped closer and narrowed his eyes. "Being the concerned brother that I am, I decided to stay up for you. And when you finally arrive home, I overhear you scheming in secret!" At his affronted tone, Weiss walked up to her brother and scoffed.
"We weren't scheming as you claim. I apologize for worrying you, but there's nothing you need to be concerned about."
"Not even the mysterious object that you misplaced?"
Now it was Whitley's turn to scoff as he caught a brief flash of panic cross his sister's face before it changed into the carefully blank countenance he was used to seeing from her. He crossed his arms and raised an eyebrow at her, clearly expecting an explanation. Unfortunately for him, stubbornness seemed to run in their family; Weiss simply mimicked her brother and refused to say anything.
Sensing that he wasn't going to get any information, Whitley decided to try a different approach, one he knew that even the princess would have to respond to. "I suppose I can't force you to respond, so I should perhaps inform you that I recently checked our Dust supply and found it diminished..." The prince trailed off and was satisfied with Weiss' obvious uneasiness.
"What are you insinuating, Whitley?" The prince didn't bother to hide his satisfied smirk at his sister's affronted tone. He knew that she had no way to defend herself and thus resorted to being defensive as an attempt to change the subject. However, years of living together allowed him to see through the princess' diversionary tactics.
Weiss huffed, knowing she wasn't likely to erase the suspicion she cast upon herself. She looked up at her smirking brother and glared. Finally she sighed, resigning herself to her fate. "Fine. I'll tell you where I've been, but we can't speak here," she said, gesturing to the spacious hallway around them.
The prince nodded and entered Weiss' bedchamber. Their butler was about to follow them before Weiss pulled him aside and whispered, "Klein, I'm not sure what's going to happen after I speak with my brother, but I must find that dust crystal before my father discovers its absence. Can I ask you to get started on the search?"
Klein bowed and laid a reassuring hand on Weiss' shoulder. "I'll report my findings as soon as I get any information. Get some rest, and give my regards to your brother as well." After he left, the princess sighed and steeled herself for the conversation to come.
A month after Blake's successful transaction with Torchwick, she returned to Junior's for a meeting with another member of the White Fang. Since the agent was undercover, there weren't many that knew of her allegiance with the group. This provided a way for its members to gather information and supplies with civilians being none the wiser, especially since their operative happened to be an armorer.
Blake took a seat at a table near the back as per her companion's request to lower the chance of being identified. She sipped her usual cup of Atlesian tea and examined her surroundings, feeling satisfied with the White Fang's recent triumphs in its heists. The organization's successes even got the attention of the king, whose entire family became even more secluded than before. While she was occupied with the White Fang for the past month, she did overhear how Princess had also not appeared for the same duration of time but thought nothing of it; the woman must have been busy with whatever her regular occupation was, of course she wouldn't have time to visit.
The chair across from her suddenly scraped as it was pulled back, causing Blake's cat ears to perk up and her eyes to catch sight of familiar rabbit ears. She smiled at the newcomer and pushed the cup of coffee she had ordered earlier toward the Faunus. Velvet Scarlatina chuckled and took a sip, raising an eyebrow at Blake as she did so.
"I know it's been a while, but I wasn't aware your tastes had changed so much, Blake," the armorer teased as she settled into her seat and took a cursory glance around the tavern. Fortunately for them, the usual busyness of their meeting place allowed her to enter unnoticed.
"Very funny, Velvet," Blake rolled her eyes but smiled despite the tease. "How's the armory? Any extra security measures you need?" She glanced at her friend in concern, remembering past violence that had affected the armory after the White Fang began gaining notoriety.
To her relief, Velvet merely chuckled. The armorer took another sip of her coffee before setting the cup down and relaxing in her seat. "I still keep in touch with Fox and Yatsuhashi every week when they visit me. They've even started teaching me how to defend myself. Honestly, I'm surprised they actually enjoy my company. You know I don't like attracting attention," Velvet's voice gradually became quieter as she continued speaking, and she curled in on herself. Blake frowned since she didn't intend to upset her companion.
"Well, they are your literal knights in shining armor," Blake waggled her eyebrows at Velvet and received a scoff in response. "I still feel bad that I wasn't there when your armory was attacked, but I am glad that you have people you can trust. Bonus points for them working for the royal family." At this, the rabbit Faunus raised an eyebrow and leaned across the table.
"Blake, you are aware that I do actually consider them my friends. They're not bad people just because they work for the king. I know I've said this before, but putting your trust in people is not a bad thing." Velvet gave an exasperated exhale at Blake's frown that appeared each time the topic of trust was broached and raised a hand to stop the cat Faunus' protest that was about to slip.
The rabbit Faunus sighed and shook her head before giving her friend a small smile. "Let's not get into this again. We're meeting up to have a good time, so let's enjoy ourselves, yeah?" She raised her cup and waited for Blake to raise hers before clinking them together. After they finished their drinks, Velvet pulled out a folded piece of paper and handed it to her confidant. Blake pocketed it, and the two spent the next hour catching up before Velvet had to return to the armory.
Following Velvet's departure, Blake looked at the dwindling crowd of patrons still present in the tavern and realized how late it was. Just as she was about to get up to leave, the chair across from her unexpectedly scraped again. The cat Faunus realized a few things as she looked up to the face of the newcomer.
Princess was back. And she was not happy.