Disclaimer: RWBY is owned by Rooster Teeth and Monty Oum, not me. This is merely a fanwork meant for entertainment purposes only. Cover image courtesy of Jan Chrt (jeni-cek on deviantART). All rights reserved.
Weiss took a deep breath.
"Nervous?"
She shook her head.
"Not exactly, Mister Asbeth. It's just that, well...there's been a lot of work leading up to this moment. Sometimes I have to take a minute to let that sink in."
The second floor of the Project Alpha had, after many hours of labour, been completely transformed from its past self, having formerly been cluttered with innumerable boxes filled with air and dust. Now, however, the space had been thoroughly organised by Weiss' keen mind, split off into little 'sectors' and marked for future development. If this business took off properly, a few offices would certainly go a long way, and while Weiss' office at the end was certainly coming along well, with its fancy desk and nifty computer, the rest were, for the moment, falling to the wayside. That was fine, though. While the business was just getting started, the patrons would be restricted to the main floor, so the mostly non-existent upstairs would hopefully go unnoticed.
"Whatever you say, Miss Schnee." Asbeth muttered, making a token effort to straighten out his formal trench coat, "So long as your speech ain't interrupted by a case of the jitters, I guess it doesn't matter too much either way."
"Oh, please." Weiss said, rolling her eyes, "When you've had to sing for an arena full of people you've never met, performing a little sales pitch to a few ragtag students is child's play."
KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK.
"Enter!" Weiss exclaimed sharply.
The Beacon Prom was still far on the horizon, and while it was obviously something he wasn't accustomed to wearing, Jaune had come prepared with a slim black suit, complete with a little red bow tie that gave the otherwise plain attire a suave quality. It was a slick complement to Weiss' garb; a long, flowing ball gown, its perfect whiteness reminiscent of winter's first snow.
Not half bad, Mister Arc...perhaps if you wore it a little better, I'd even go as far as to say it's quite a handsome look.
"I was getting some odd stares pushing through the crowd wearing this thing…" Jaune complained, pulling a little on his bow tie, "There is a reason you requested a suit, right?"
"There's always a reason, Jaune; you should know that by now. After all, we can't have you looking like a scruffy little stray while you're standing next to me on stage, can we?"
Jaune's face blanched.
"M-me? On stage? Are you trying to make me the school laughing stock? Er...more than I already am, anyway."
"Calm down, you dolt! I'll be the one talking, thank you very much; all you have to do is sit there and look pretty, nodding your head once in a while."
"Look pretty?" Jaune repeated, smiling, "Should I have asked one of my sisters for a dress instead?"
"Perhaps for the next event, Jaune." Weiss replied, a devilish grin creeping across her own face.
Meanwhile, Asbeth seemed to be making some kind of effort to escape, having almost made it through the door to the floor below before Weiss snapped her fingers.
"Mister Asbeth!"
He groaned.
"Yes, Miss Schnee?"
"Where exactly do you think you're going?"
"...somewhere else?"
"That's terribly rude of you, Mister Asbeth, considering I'd asked you to accompany myself and Jaune onto the stage."
"Yeah, well, best made plans of Weiss and men and all that."
"Not on my watch. You will accompany us, Mister Asbeth, and after that, you can go off to the Metropolitan and become inebriated with my money, if it pleases you."
"Is that how your dad told you to talk to people?"
Weiss gritted her teeth.
"Please, Mister Asbeth?"
"Better. I'll be waiting on the other side, Miss Schnee." Asbeth announced, his trenchcoat flapping slightly as he pushed his way to the lower floor.
Jaune blinked.
"...you and him go way back, I'm guessing?"
"And how exactly did you come to that conclusion?"
"You're cold to people you don't like, but you're vicious to people you do...and sometimes really, really nice. Sometimes."
"Is that so?" Weiss asked hotly, "Because, Jaune, I have to say I'm feeling rather vicious tonight. Do you know what that means?"
Jaune gulped.
"Am I getting dragged on another manor adventure?"
"Oh no, that would be far too simple. Congratulations on your promotion, Mister Arc." Weiss said mysteriously, skipping over to the door and slipping through before Jaune had chance to respond.
"...that girl's going to be the death of me, isn't she?"
Jaune sighed, reluctantly making his way over to the plain oak door that had barely finished closing.
She's a pretty death, at least.
Despite the lines she'd fed to Asbeth, it would be fairly on-point to say that Weiss Schnee was a little on-edge. It wasn't the performing aspect; after all, as she'd said previously, she'd appeared in front of far more than the one hundred or so Beacon students that had piled into the hall, chattering away here and there as they picked away at the high quality nibbles, courtesy of Lizz's bakery. If she had to guess, it would be that, before, Weiss had been merely acting out someone else's lines; the songs had been chosen for her, the little speeches she'd made had been wrought from another's hand...this, however, was all her own making, and the ice queen couldn't help but dread a chilly reception.
...here goes nothing, I guess.
Weiss' heels cut through the low rumbling of talk like the sharpest knife as she walked onto the stage, promptly followed by the much less graceful forms of Asbeth and Jaune. Silence greeted the hall as she stepped up to the microphone, steeling herself for what was to come.
"Fellow students of Beacon…" she began, her voice taking a practised resonant quality, "Welcome to the opening night of our school's finest enterprise to date. Now, perhaps you've wondered amongst yourselves...what exactly is this entity I speak of? I've heard mutterings that say I'm donning an apron and starting a mess hall; yet others whispering that this is some kind of elaborate subsidiary of Schnee corp that has been handed down to me from my father. I'm afraid that, while these are both legitimate ideas in their own right, I must dash these rumours against the wall...for you see, the business I have planned is far, far more interesting."
Weiss detached the microphone from its stand, pacing down the plain wooden stage that, despite its rapid construction time, appeared to be holding up perfectly well.
"Isn't it a shame, my fellow students? Isn't it a shame that, despite dubbing ourselves hunters and huntresses in training, it is so terribly rare that we actually got around to doing any hunting? Essays, field trips to collect innocuous materials, stale lectures by Professor Port...I don't think I need to dwell overmuch on these things, for as we all know, they have become unfortunate parts of our daily life. So, my hunters and huntresses...what would you say if I were to announce a little something that might well fulfill that hunting itch that has gone unfulfilled for so very long? And, not only that, you would also be able to make a fair amount of lien on the side! What say you to this?"
A cheer erupted through the audience, and while the uproar continued, Weiss clapped her hands, prompting a previously unseen banner to fall from the roof, its crimson red providing a stark contrast against the plain white walls of the building itself. Upon the banner, expertly printed, was a light blue snowflake, not so far apart from the traditional Schnee logo...that is, apart from the two golden arcs that now pierced through the top portion.
"Today I announce Vale's newest organisation, the Aurora guild! Accepting applicants from anyone studying at Beacon, Aurora will offer hunting missions not so different from the ones executed by hunters and huntresses across the globe, providing not only experience, but financial rewards as well! No more will Grimm harry our gates, for experienced guild members will be there to cut them down! More interested in protection contracts for Vale's more paranoid citizens? Aurora will be here to help, offering up bodyguard work to give our citizens, and your wallets, peace of mind. And, after the proud guild members return to the hall with their spoils, they may partake of delicious pastries and wondrous beverages, all the while swapping stories and generally enjoying the company of their fellows."
Weiss returned the microphone to the stand, putting her arms wide.
"So, I ask again, dear students of Beacon, my brothers, my sisters, my friends...what say you to this?"
"YES!" the crowd thundered, seemingly shaking the very foundations of the building itself.
"Then, with myself, Weiss Schnee, as President, and Jaune Arc as Vice President-"
"WHAT?!" Jaune cried, but the roar of the crowd simply swallowed it up.
"-I swear to you all that we will lead you to a future where essays, lectures, material collection...a future where all of these are a mere distraction from the work of a real hunter or huntress. Join the Aurora guild, brothers and sisters, and live out your full potential!"
Weiss waited on-stage for quite some time, basking in the her handiwork. People were her instruments, and given the crowd's reaction, this particular speech had come out a masterpiece. Finally, she picked up the microphone again, walking to the front edge of the stage.
"Flyers will be available on your way out, but until then, enjoy yourselves! After all, what's a guild hall if it hasn't been lived in a little, hm?"
With that, Weiss returned the microphone and stepped off the stage, dragging the still bewildered Jaune with her as she strode back to her office. The students soon resumed their chatter and merriment, this time centering the conversations around the exciting new guild that had announced itself on their doorstep.
Convenient, really, since all the talking happened to mask a rather large thump from further up the building. As Asbeth pushed his way over to the main doorway, refusing a flier from the pasty little helpers Weiss had rounded up from a nearby inn, he began to wonder what exactly Weiss was planning to do with her little friend once they were upstairs.
Or, more importantly, whether he should tell his best man that his son was banging none other than the heiress of the Schnee corporation herself.
Nah, probably not. Better to keep these things as a surprise, right?
Of course, the noise that had pierced through to the ground floor had nothing to do with any sort of sexual relations, as hilarious as Asbeth would have found such a thing. No, instead, Weiss was confronted by the towering form of Cardin Winchester, garbed in stone and holding an unconscious man by the back of his deep black cloak.
"Might want to hire a bodyguard, Miss Schnee." Cardin announced, his voice imitating the tone that Spade had held back at the manor. In a contemptuous motion, he slammed the man down onto the floor, a silvery black emblem tumbling out of his cloak.
Weiss gasped in shock, but Jaune merely peered at the metal in confusion.
"What exactly is that?" he asked, somewhat unnerved by Weiss' horrified expression.
"The Black Arrow…" Weiss breathed, her legs suddenly feeling a whole lot less sure of themselves.
"They're a guild?"
"Not just any guild, Jaune…"
Weiss grimaced.
"An assassin's guild."
Hiya, Soul here! As promised in the previous author commentary, this chapter has been posted on Sunday (today) rather than on the usual Thursday, but worry not, for as I said, chapter four is still slated for a Thursday release!
Have questions, feedback, commentary on ships bouncing around? Stick 'em all in the reviews section! Unless it concerns plot spoilers, I tend to answer all questions via PM, so don't be afraid to post whatever comes into your head ^^ .
See you next on Thursday, folks!
This chapter has been checked over and refined, and unless someone else suggests a correction, this will be the final version.