Arch-princess Blake Belladonna surveyed her realms. She was finally the princess of her own castle, and . She was an excellent princess, as she always knew she would be, and it was a dream come true to preside over her own kingdom, to bask in the admiration of her loyal subjects.
And among her loyal subjects, non were more loyal, more gentle, and more corporeal than Grand Admiral Schnee.
"Oh Princess," Weiss called out, "No star shines as bright as you! As I sail the seas, you will be the light that guides me home!"
"This pleases me," the princess said. She gave her Admiral a smile, and it was enough.
And they did typical fairy tale things, and it was good.
"Ah-" Blake said. She grabbed the tiara on her head before it fell off.
"Ah- " Weiss reached out too, and then she fumbled around in her pocket for a bobby pin, and she affixed the tiara to Blake's head.
Blake adjusted her crown and straightened her posture and clasped her hands in front of her.
On the nearby playset, A young girl squirrelled out under her hoodie and tied its arms around her neck, so it billowed out like a cape. The long sleeved shirt she wore under it was black, and her leggings were also black.
Five other children made their way around her, as Recess progressed, and once they were assembled, Ruby climbed up on a piece of play equipment and posed, imperiously.
On a distant hill, the fiendish rogue Sankt-Kaiser Ruby Rose gazed upon the affront to her dominion, Her arms folded, her cape billowing in the wind.
"Suffer not usurpers," The Kaiser intoned. She gestured, dramatically. "Drive them from our lands. Slay them where they stand, and till their corpses into the soil to plant the seeds of our empire. Make an example of them."
"Yes, my liege!" Cried out the Kaiser's holy minions. They charged.
The alarm rang in the kingdom of Arch-Princess Blake, for the castle was under attack.
As the minions of the Rose Imperium approached, and through diligence and cunning, the Royal Navy kept the invaders at bay.
"Ahhhh!" Weiss screamed, as Pyrrha and Ren grabbed at her shirt. She escaped them, and she managed to dodge and shove Pyrrha out of the way and retreat to a higher level on the playset. They couldn't get up with Weiss blocking them.
On the distant hill, Sankt-Kaiser Ruby Rose looked out over the ensuing battle.
"My Kaiser, this isn't accomplishing anything," said the Grand Vizier. "Surely this is unnecessary?"
"Method within madness; that is genius," said the Kaiser, "And don't you worry your little head. I will end this shortly, myself."
While Blake was distracted, Ruby climbed up the outside of the playset, along pieces of scaffolding that really weren't meant to be climbed. So Blake didn't see the ambush coming.
Princess Blake fought her hardest, alongside her royal corsair, but she saw the battle sway in her enemies favor.
The Princess turned towards her secret escape route; a tunnel that led out of the castle. While she hoped to never abandon her kingdom, she knew that the lives of her subjects were more important than any edifice of stone and mortar. Thus, she determined to retreat, to live to fight another day-
But the Kaiser was there, arms folded, looming blocking her path.
Blake prepared herself for the fight. "You may be more powerful than I," She said, "But I only need to escape, and one person cannot detain me."
"Hahaha. You underestimate my genius, usurper," said the Kaiser.
"Ahhh-" Blake yelled, as Ruby tackled her, into the circular plastic slide. You really weren't supposed to go down the slide head first, and you definitely weren't supposed to go down a slide while being grappled by another kid.
Jaune and Nora pulled Blake to her feet when she emerged at the bottom of the playset.
And on that day, Arch Princess Blake was taken prisoner by the rogueish fiend Sankt-Kaiser Ruby Rose.
Kaiser Rose cackled maniacally over the fallen form of the Arch Princess. Yet Arch-princess Blake, like a true princess, still kept her regal composure and her ethereal grace, even under the
"Please have mercy," begged the Princess. "You have won; you have nothing to gain through further bloodshed-"
"Mercy would be bad for my reputation," said the Kaiser. "And besides; you stole my castle-"
"There are many castles!-"
"And they all belong to me."
"Please," said Princess Blake. "We only wanted to play-"
"Then you only have your hubris to blame." The minions nodded in assent. "What you need," said the Kaiser. and she took a menacing step towards the captive princess, "Is an eternal reminder of your treason."
"Please-"
"You're Blake Belladonna, correct? You beat me out in last summer's reading competition," The Kaiser smirked, evilly, "I ought to ensure that never happens again."
The Princess blinked, in shock, at the enormity of what the Kaiser asked of her. She looked to the ground and shed a single tear. "Very well; I shall forsake reading. I ask of only one thing, in return."
"You are in no position to bargain-"
"Let's hear it out, at least," Said the Grand-Vizier
Blake looked up, to her captor, "Allow my admiral to leave, unharmed. And I will do whatever you wish of me."
"I can give her a 5 minute head start," said Kaiser Rose.
"No," insisted the Princess, "You must ensure her safety. You must."
The Vizier turned to her Kaiser. "Surely we can spare that much."
Sankt-Kaiser Rose thought for a long while. Blake held her breath.
"Very well," said the Kaiser, "Your Admiral will have her freedom as you are forever chained. A fair trade."
But then, Admiral Weiss in question approached the circle of minions. "Princess!" she cried out.
Two of the Imperium's minions grabbed Weiss's arms, but Weiss fought through, desperately reaching out to her princess, "Let her go! Take me instead!" said the Grand Pirate Weiss.
"It would be a poor trade," laughed the Kaiser, "You are largely worthless."
The Kaiser's minions laughed. Blake protested.
"But- Blake isn't suited for torture," said Grand Admiral Weiss, "Wouldn't you- wouldn't you rather have someone who can bear your dark machinations?"
"Well, it's no good if you like it," said the Kaiser, "What's the point of torturing you if you like it?"
"But I wouldn't! I- I normally don't like being tortured-"
"But clearly, you would prefer that we take you instead of this false princess. And I'm not in the business of giving my enemies what they want," said the Kaiser.
"Wait!" The admiral cried out, straining against the grip of the Kaiser's minions, "Then let me at least say one last thing to my Princess, before you take her away?"
"No." The Kaiser waved her arms. "Dispose of her!-"
"Belay that!" said the Vizier. She turned to the Kaiser, "Surely it would be more cruel to give the Princess one last reminder of the love she'll never get to feel again?"
Sankt-Kaiser Rose rubbed her chin. "Very well," she gestured to her minions, "Let her through."
"Princess!" cried the corsair, as she ran and fell to the feet of her princess, "Don't don't do all this just for my sake! You can't let them do that to you-"
The Kaiser waved a hand. "Alright, you said your peace. Now get them!"
"No, let them finish," Said the Grand Vizier Yang. She held up a hand (the only one she had).
"I'm- I'm not worth it," Weiss sobbed, "Don't give up reading, just for me. You can't."
"Weiss," said Blake. She ran a hand through Weiss's hair, "Of course you're worth it."
The admiral's heart swelled up, but she didn't forget her resolve.
Sankt-Kaiser Rose stuck out her tongue and made a gagging motion. "Alright, now you've said your peace-"
"Wait!" The Admiral cried, once more, "One more thing-"
"You already had 'one more thing'-"
"Just let them finish!" said the vizier. Her hand was to her mouth, and tears were in her eyes and she looked on in awe.
The Admiral stood, and took the Princess's hands in her own.
"Before you go, I have one, one last thing to tell you," whispered Admiral Weiss.
And Princess Blake leaned forward, her attention on what would next fall from her admiral's lips, and the rest of the world- the invaders, the Kaiser- they didn't seem to matter, in just this moment-
Weiss grabbed Blake's hand right hand in her left, and she pulled the taller girl towards the sparse part of the circle of bullies.
"Run!" Weiss yelled.
They broke through the blockade, barely escaping the reflexive grabs of some of the meaner kids.
"No!" cried Ruby, "Nooooooooo! Get them, you fools!"
They ran. Weiss didn't look back, but she didn't need to, because she could feel Blake squeezing her hand tight.
And they ran-
And ran-
And ran and ran and ran.
Until they made it to the broken swing-set on the far side of the parking lot.
Weiss held her arm out against the swing set for support, as she doubled over, panting. Blake was in a similar state of exhaustion.
Eventually, Weiss found the breath to speak. "I suppose this will have to be our castle, huh?"
"I- {pant} suppose, it's better than {pant} nothing-{ wheeze}"
"So," Weiss said, between breaths, "Are you going to christen it?"
"I can't," Blake said. "You touched it first, so it's yours, today."
"Well, in that case, I bequeath it to you, my Princess." Weiss bowed.
"I'm afraid I must refuse," Blake said, "I don't want my own castle, anymore."
Blake took Weiss's hands in her own. "Let it be our castle. We can share it."
Weiss smiled, the happiness rising out of her chest. Blake blushed, and looked away, and let go of Weiss's hands.
In the distance, Ruby glared at the pair and shook her fist in the air. Blake and Weiss couldn't hear exactly what she was saying, but it was likely something about vengeance.
"I'm sorry," Blake said. She looked into the distance. "For putting you through all that."
"It's okay," Weiss said. She smiled, at the ground, before managing to make eye contact with Blake. "I had a lot of fun! Because. I. Um." Weiss refreshed her eye contact, "I really like you, Blake. Really."
Blake's face turned red. Her mouth wobbled. "W-well, that's dumb. You're dumb. And gross! And you stink!"
Weiss suppressed a smile, "Okay."
"I mean it! You stink so bad!"
Weiss suppressed a blush and a giggle.
And three months later, somehow, Weiss, Blake, Ruby, and Yang all became friends.