To address the concerns one of the guest reviewers had regarding Weiss, she will not be "an OC with Weiss' name slapped on her." For one, the transition from "Weiss, the broken heiress" to "Weiss, the confident Huntress and singer" is not going to happen the instant her physical transformation occurs. I already stated that her hair's slow transition from pure white to black with white tips (and a few streaks added in) would happen in time with her own struggle to redefine herself, which means she's going through character development during this. Second, the most significant changes early on will be, as shown in this chapter, that she's trying to decide what parts of her she's willing and able to leave behind as she goes forward. By the time her character development, in this part, is finished, the most serious changes will be that she's become warmer and more open, while her motives for her actions have changed to reflect what she's learned about herself and others.

The idea is that she's trying to recreate herself so that she's able to stand on her own without relying on her connection to others to define who she is. I don't intend for her to be too different personality-wise, except for her goals and motives to change. While she is willing to accept Aurelius' offer, she will not feel truly worthy of calling herself a Rose until she's happy with who she is.

As the start of this chapter's going to show, there's a number of things Weiss does not like about herself as well.

Anyways, let's move on to the chapter.

Chapter 46: First Steps and the Decision

Patch, Xiao Long Residence

Weiss took a deep breath as she stepped out of the shower, towel wrapped around her. She stopped in front of the mirror, getting ready to brush her hair when Winter's request from the previous day entered her mind. She let out a sigh and put her brush down, looking in her reflection in the eye. "Alright Weiss, you can do this. It can't be that hard…" she thought, hesitating slightly. "…Right?" "Okay, let's see… I'm a good singer according to Ruby… And she loves me…" Weiss glanced down, thinking as time ticked by. "I… I'm a decent fighter… Um…" She bit her lip as the twenty-five second mark went by. Her eyes glanced to her hair and she went to list off something else when a memory struck her.

"Are you kidding? With hair like that at your age you have to be a Schnee!"

Weiss looked down, trembling slightly. "I can't be proud of that…" Tears welled up as seconds ticked by and only negative thoughts crossed her mind. "I'm too cold to make friends on my own, too weak to stand up for myself, too flat-chested and plain for anyone to care for my looks, and I have this stupid sca-" Weiss' thoughts stopped as Ruby's words to her rang out.

"I always liked your scar Weiss. It made you look wiser, braver, and even more beautiful to me."

Weiss took a shuddering breath as her own explanation of what her scar meant to her as her hand ran along it. "I said I believed all of this would be worth it… Can I honestly say that when I just give up without a fight? And can I really say I deserve Ruby when I can't even hold onto the things she says about me?" Weiss let out a frustrated sigh before someone knocked on the door.

"Weiss? Are you okay?" Ruby said meekly. "You've been in there for a while…"

Weiss glanced at the door. "I… I don't know any more, Ruby. I just… Winter wanted me to try to come up with at least five things I liked about myself and I can only think of three…" Weiss let out a sigh as she looked down. "No matter how I look at it, I'm still tied down by my past…"

Ruby let out a sigh. "Weiss? Can you come closer please? I want to make sure you hear this." Weiss blinked before she walked over, sitting on the ground and resting her head against the door.

"Alright, Ruby. What did you want to say?" Weiss asked.

"I… I think you need to step back and try to look at things from an outside perspective, okay? What exactly is bothering you first off?"

Weiss let out a frustrated sigh. "I just… I've always been defined by the fact I was a Schnee. Whenever I managed to excel at something, everyone said it was because I was a Schnee. When I didn't do as well as I should have, they told me that, as a Schnee, I should do better. Whenever people first saw me, they said that with my looks I had to be a Schnee, and when I was introduced to them…"

"They always immediately said they knew you as the heiress to the SDC," Ruby finished. "And because of all that, you couldn't feel like your accomplishments were your own."

"No, I couldn't… and now I'm forced to sit here knowing that everyone I help, anything I do to improve the Schnee family name… it'll all be improving Jacques' name and Whitley's. It just feels like I can never do anything without it being tied to the Schnee family name and that I'm always pushed to fix everything my father and Whitley do… How did you deal with the stress, Ruby? How did you handle everyone's expectations of you?" Weiss asked meekly.

"Hmm? Oh, I didn't really think about it. For me, it was never about living up to the Rose family legacy. That's not what it is for any of us. My family believes that neither the sins nor the virtues of the parent are the responsibility of the child to endure or uphold. Not every Rose decided to stay with our family, but the Rose family traits rarely last more than two or three generations outside it before their children can pass as normal people." Weiss blinked in surprise at hearing this before Ruby continued. "The members of the Rose family that stayed on our path didn't do so out of an ancestral obligation or because they had to uphold our family name."

"Then why would they?" Weiss asked.

"Because they wanted to," Ruby said as if it was the simplest thing in the world. "Like me, most Roses either grew up watching their parents do great acts of heroism or hearing about their previous deeds. Many were driven to follow in their parents' footsteps simply because they looked up to them, wanted to be like them. We didn't care what anyone thought of us, only that our actions would make the people were inspired by proud of us." Ruby took a deep breath. "Which is what I think you need to do as well, Weiss. I know the idea hurts, but like you said, the Schnee family name doesn't belong to the Schnee family anymore."

Weiss looked down as she stood up. "It's not my burden to bear?" she asked meekly, trembling slightly.

"Not if you don't want it to be Weiss. You don't have to abandon your past completely either. You still have Winter, after all, and there's things Jacques can't take away from you. Things that make you who you are and that nobody else can claim to have. Just look at what about your past you're proud of, people that inspire you and that you care about, the things Jacques can never take away from you." Ruby smiled to herself. "And I think that's what Aurelius wants you to understand. You can choose your destiny now."

Ruby let out a squeak as the door flew open and Weiss launched herself at the other girl, wrapping her arms around her neck. "Thank you, Ruby… I think that's exactly what I needed to hear."

Ruby nervously wrapped her arms around the girl, smiling meekly. "U-um, I'm glad I could help, Weiss… Not that I mind you hugging me when you're only wearing a towel, but don't you think you should get dressed?" Weiss blinked before her face turned as red as her girlfriend's cloak.

"Oh god, I'm so sorry!" Weiss squeaked before running back into the bathroom. She took a deep breath as she tried to calm down. "Good job, Weiss. Why do you have to glomp your adorable, sexy girlfriend no matter what you're doing the moment she says something that's even slightly helpful?" Weiss blushed a bit at her choice of words, but she couldn't deny that she'd thought of taking things to the next level in the last two days. "I know she said she wanted to make me her mate, but even she seemed to think it was too soon…" Weiss glanced at the door for a moment. "At least, she didn't think I was ready when she said that to Yang and Blake… But am I ready for that? To be bound with her forever?" Weiss glanced at her reflection in the mirror, a thought crossing her mind as she gave a small smile. "No… Not yet. If she let go now I'd be her mate, sure… But if I'm going to expect us to take that step, it needs to be both ways. I need to be able to claim her as my mate, too."

Bastion, Citadel Tower, with Weiss

Weiss let out a sigh as she walked through the crowd, watching a child look around wildly in wonder as the former heiress passed by with a small smile. She turned her focus to the corridor ahead of her before she saw a head of white hair. Weiss blinked in surprise before calling out. "Winter?" The other woman turned around, equally surprised before the younger sister spoke up at the sight of her shoulder-length hair. "I've never seen you with your hair down… Are you trying to see if looking more relaxed will get Aurelius' attention?"

Winter sputtered briefly before glaring at her sister. "I would appreciate it if you would keep my… interest in him secret." Weiss nodded before she started moving down the hallway, Winter next to her. "So, I assume you intend to speak to Aurelius," Winter stated, causing Weiss to nod.

"I needed to ask him a few questions and give my decision. After that, I'm going to go to Tri-Peaks Records to give them what they need to record the music for my song."

Winter glanced at her younger sister with a smile. "So, what did you choose to write about?"

Weiss smiled. "I decided to write about everything that led to this situation and make it my own response to Jacques. Perhaps I'll even see if I can invite him to listen to my performance so I can give a proper dedication."

Winter nodded as she tapped the console on the lift. The two talked quietly as the lift rose through the Tower. "Have you been sleeping well?" Winter asked suddenly, causing Weiss to jump slightly.

"Yes, actually. I think having Ruby nearby is helping my nightmares more than I expected, although…" Weiss looked down with a subtle blush.

Winter raised an eyebrow at this, a slight smile on her face. "Having problems with another type of dream, are we?" Weiss blushed a bright red.

"Shut up! It's not my fault. I heard Ruby talking to Yang and Blake about… something," Weiss said meekly.

"I see. And what could they have possibly spoken about that gives you dreams such as those?" Winter asked with a smile.

Winter's smile faltered slightly as Weiss grinned back. "Well, let's just say you should do a bit of research on the faunus before you get too far along your plan to get with Aurelius." The older sister blinked as the lift came to a rest, following Weiss off.

"Do you honestly intend to keep me in the dark about this?" Winter asked in frustration.

Weiss grinned back at her sister and went to knock on the door when they heard a girl scream on the other side. The two went wide-eyed before Weiss pushed the door open, hand going to Myrtenaster. The duo stopped when they saw Roman Torchwick knelt next to Neo as she sat on the ground, cradling her throat. "What the hell, Blue? You said it'd hurt a bit, not that she'd scream out like she was burning!"

Aurelius ran a hand through his hair, a drained look on his face. "I'm sorry, I don't know how everyone will react to this," he said with a sigh. "I mean... The fact that she can even scream means it worked, right?" Roman looked at him in dismay as the Blue Rose knelt down next to the girl. "Neo, can you say something please?"

Neo rubbed her throat meekly. "W-water…" Torchwick smiled slightly, handing the girl a water bottle. She took a gulp, letting out a sigh before looking at Roman. "Hi…"

"Hey, how do you feel kiddo?" he asked, patting her head.

"It's… sore… but other than that… I'm fine," Neo said before her eyes lit up. "Dad, you said we'd get something to eat after he fixed my voice. Can we get ice cream? Pleeeeease?"

Roman smiled. "Sure… C'mon, let's go see if there's any ice cream around here."

Neo smiled and threw her arms in the air. "Yay!" she said, voice still weak as she grabbed Roman's hand, pulling him out of the office.

Aurelius hummed before glancing at the girls, doing a double take at Winter's hair. "Ah, I see you're actually learning how to relax. I'm impressed," he said with a smile before she scoffed, looking away with a blush. He glanced at Weiss as he sat down, leaning forward in his chair. "Ah, Weiss. How can I help you?"

Weiss took a deep breath. "About the offer from earlier…" Aurelius clasped his hands on the desk, giving the girl his full attention. "Will it hurt? Or at least, how much will it hurt?"

Aurelius let out a sigh. "Unfortunately. And how much it hurts depends on the rate of the transformation. A longer shift will cause less pain than a shorter transformation."

Weiss nodded. "And do I have control over how I change once it starts?"

"To an extent. It all depends on your own subconscious more than your conscious mind," Aurelius said with a hum.

"And do I need you to be there for it to work? Is there a way I could trigger the transformation on my own?"

"Normally no, but with your Glyphs… It's possible to activate the Dust used to allow the transformation to occur whenever you want. I wouldn't recommend it unless you're careful, however."

Weiss nodded and took a deep breath. "So how does this work, then?" she asked before Aurelius leaned back in his chair, ear twitching slightly.

"Would the two of you like something to drink? The preparations will take some time." The two sisters nodded before Aurelius went to make some tea.

Weiss glanced at her sister, watching her gaze follow Aurelius before sighing. "Just a few days… Then I can finally show Ruby how I feel…"

I'm going to end this chapter here for now. I'm sorry it took so long and I hope everyone enjoyed it