After some time, it was obvious that getting out would be easier said than done. Without seeing the Faunus guards, they couldn't get any information about them. Once in a while, a shadow from the roof crossed the skylight as the Faunus Ape patrolled. Nora noticed Snake occasionally checking on them through the office with Rabbit. Rat seemed the least alert, but it was mainly due to boredom. He sat against the wall reading a comic, only occasionally glancing up to make sure Ren and Nora hadn't moved.
"Any luck?" whispered Ren, under the chuckling of Rat in his corner.
"No," sighed Nora. She had been rubbing her rope bonds against the side of the crate in the hope of weakening them, but doing this subtlety was a tense and slow process. "You?"
"No," frowned Ren. He glanced at the office. "But we need a plan soon. It's only a matter of time before Snake gets sick of waiting."
Nora shuddered. "I never knew there were people like her. She's evil."
"She is," said Ren. "But, in a way, I feel sorry for them."
"What?" exclaimed Nora. "Why?"
"You haven't seen your kingdom, Nora," said Ren. "Faunus have been distrusted, ridiculed, and exploited even before the Faunus War. We keep promising to make things better, but time and time again we break those promises."
"That's no excuse to do something like this," said Nora.
"You don't understand. They have been fighting for basic rights for decades. Schools rarely accept Faunus students. It is hard for them to get jobs. The Schnee Dust Company uses an indentured service policy with Faunus, but people say it's a little more than slavery."
"If people know about it, why doesn't anyone help them?" asked Nora.
"Because Humans hate things that are different from them. They see Faunus as Grimm in Human form."
"That's ridiculous!" said Nora, startled. "Faunus are different, but that's no reason to hate them!"
"Fear can cause drastic things to happen to people."
"Why do people fear the Faunus?"
"Well think about it. If you saw Snake in the street with her fangs, what would be your first thought?"
Nora stared at Ren, then looked over to the door with Snake inside.
"I would fear her initially," she said. "But if she was a good person I would get over it."
"That's the problem," said Ren. "Most Humans are too afraid to take that first step. We have not been on Remnant for long and what everyone remembers is the world is filled with monsters. Staying with members of your own species is a survival tactic that nearly every animal obeys instinctively and anything different from us we treat with caution. Faunus are no different, but they are outnumbered by both Humans and Grimm. So, to survive, they retaliate."
"But violence just causes more violence," said Nora.
"Yes, normally it does," said Ren. "But unfortunately, sometimes it seems to be the right thing to do for some. Have you heard of the White Fang?"
"I heard of them, but my father never talked to me about them," said Nora. "Who are they?"
"They were a group of Faunus who sought to peacefully end the prejudice and be accepted into society. They would attend boycotts, sit-ins, marches, but they never caused injuries or violent acts. But there are rumors that the old founders are stepping down and the new leaders are taking the group in a different direction. They have been a lot more active and Faunus have been more violent than usual, but there has been no proof yet they are behind it. But the fear that they might be behind it alone is causing people to respect them more. They would rather respect them out of fear than respect them for who they really are and more Faunus are discovering that."
"So Faunus tried being peaceful, then tried being the bully, and the bully worked?"
"Yes. So now, if you found an easier way that worked, would you keep doing it that way?" Ren looked over at the office door. "Some are just too tired, desperate, or cruel to continue on the harder path. They don't think it is worth all that pain."
Nora stared at Ren.
"You've really put a lot of thought into it, haven't you?"
Ren blushed.
"Not really. It's just how and where I grew up."
Nora finally gave up trying to saw through her bonds and leaned back on her crate. "Where did you grow up?"
Ren was silent for a minute, then leaned back as well, staring at the ceiling.
"I was born outside the kingdom. Despite being bodyguards for the royal family for years, our birthplace is the same. I haven't been there for nearly six years. At age five, the Ren males come to the castle to being our training for our bodyguard positions to the royal family or one of its ambassadors. The Ren females usually stay home and take care of the village. My mother is currently in charge of our village as a sort of sheriff and mayor." Ren smiled. "My baby sister Chen is there too. She was just two years old when I left. I guess you could say she was my first 'client' as a bodyguard. She was always trying to wander off and explore." He grinned sideways at Nora. "She was a lot better at escaping than you."
"Hey!"
"Well, I was only about five years old. And mostly untrained."
"That makes me feel better."
Ren laughed softly. "I haven't thought about that place for a couple years now. I miss it."
"Can't you go visit?"
"A bodyguard stays with their client at all times. And I'm still training so there is no time to take such a long trip back there. The only way I could go back is either you went there because of an emergency or exiled me there. I do occasionally get letters, but the road is dangerous and the village doesn't have a strong receiver for long distance communications. But our village has both Faunus and Humans. They have learned to coexist and work together, but it took a long time, a lot of shared burdens and Grimm attacks to put aside their differences. Here in the kingdom, people expect to be safe and they waste their time on prejudices. Some of my best friends at home were Faunus." He sat up. "Several of their families joined the White Fang. I haven't heard from them for a year. I have no idea what happened to them. But violence and broken promises are not going to stop Humans and Faunus from fearing and hating each other. And…I feel sorry for the Faunus for us putting them in this position."
"I bet you are now."
Snake strode out of the office.
"Put Humans in the same position the Faunus are in, and they always go on and on about how sorry they are. Pathetic. Have some pride." She tilted her head, staring at Ren. "They are your species after all."
"Doesn't mean I am the same as them," said Ren.
"Yeah right," said Snake. "You wear clothes we make for you, eat the food we pick for you, buy the Dust we mine for you, but none of that matters to you Humans. You will never see us as more than monsters, so that is what we decided to become." She leaned in, a few inches away from Nora's face. "You know, for the longest time, I feared you Humans. I thought you were the monsters. Now, I realize to defeat a monster, to kill a monster, you need to become one." She straightened up and looked over at Rat. "What on Remnant are you reading?"
Rat looked up.
"Just this super-hero comic of these two Human idiots. They are stupid, but lovably so."
Snake closed her eyes and breathed deeply through her nose.
"Get to the roof. Tell Ape to get some supplies for the night and I'll call Cat in. My turn to patrol and Rabbit will take first sleep shift. Cat will watch the prisoners. If we don't hear anyone missing their kids by sunset, we will need to talk about…alternative options," she said, smiling at Nora, who shivered against her will.
Rat climbed a ladder on the wall and slipped out onto the roof while Snake went out the doors. Less than a minute later, Cat entered the building. He made sure the doors were all closed before turning to Ren and Nora.
"Pay attention," he snapped. "And I don't want to hear any comments about what I am going to tell you."
Nora and Ren glanced at each other, then back at Cat.
"We're listening," said Nora.
"You are leaving," said Cat shortly. "I don't like your kind, but it really rubs me the wrong way to sink to something as low as kidnapping. I'm going to help you escape."