Author's Note:

I don't really have anything to say particularly about what is going to happen and my plans for the future with this story.

Anyways, enjoy, leave, follow, review and all the usuals.

- Lor

Chapter 2: Fresh Start

I woke up to the sound of my bell ringing. I got up and grudgingly made my way over to the door. Looking through the peephole I saw Hector and Weiss waiting for the door to open. Weiss was looking around to distract herself. Hector was dressed in a white pristine suit while Weiss was in another white dress similar to the one she wore yesterday.

I unlocked the door and let the two in, "Morning Joseph, have a good night's rest?" Hector said greeting me.

"What time is it?" I asked rubbing my eyes as I went into my room.

"It's ten, I thought you would know," Weiss stated arrogantly.

"Right princess, or should I call you student?" I teased.

Weiss became in furious at the comment but restrained herself, her face was getting red from anger though, "Hmph!" She said sitting herself on the couch.

I went to my room and began to change,"Do you want coffee?" I hollered from my room, "I've got a coffee maker if you want to use it."

"Sure, thanks!" Hector responded.

I changed into a black hooded sweater along with blue jeans. Walking out Weiss noticed me. She scolded me for my attire, "Really, a sweater and jeans?"

I went to the dining room table and grabbed my phone, "Teaching requires for you to move, besides, it's getting chilly student," I answered with a smirk. I noticed Hector made himself a cup of coffee, "How's it taste Hector?"

"It's simply delightful," Hector answered taking a sip.

"Yeah, it's a good coffee maker," I said.

"Where'd you buy it from? It's so exquisite," Hector told me enjoying every single sip of it.

"Honestly, I don't know, it was my Uncle's before he got a new one," I answered.

Weiss became impatient, "If the two of you would stop talking about nonsense! We can get going."

Hector's face became stern at the comment, "Weiss."

"Nah, she's right, we really should get going. Busy first day after all," I answered.

"Finally!" Weiss exclaimed.

"Let's go then," Hector said heading for the door. "Some of my servants will come and pick up your belongings."

"Alright," I replied nodding and getting a jacket in case it was too cold along with the keys to my car.

We left the building and got into Hector's car. His car was a black sports car, it was nice and polished as if it were cleaned every single day. Yang would be so jealous, I thought as I took the passenger's seat. She was looking off into the distance, distancing herself from the world. I decided to bring up a conversation, "So, Weiss."

"Yes?" She answered, staring straight at me.

"Want to play a game?" I asked.

"Really? A game? Are you that childish?" Weiss scolded.

"Fine, I was just going to ask you some questions about music theory, jeez," I responded.

She paused before sighing, "Sorry, go right ahead."

"Good, what does Allegro mean?" I asked.

"When a piece is marked allegro it means to play in a fast and lively tempo," Weiss answered.

Hector smiled as he began to drive, he seemed to appreciate how I was getting along with Weiss.

I smiled, "Good, now how about cantabile?"

"In a singing style," She answered.

"Correct again, crescendo?"

"Really? To get steadily stronger," Weiss said arrogantly.

"What is the best way to resolve a dominant chord?" I asked.

"You would resolve it with a tonic chord," Weiss replied.

"Good, some basic harmony as well, mind you that was really basic," I stated.

Weiss continued to look off into the distance, I looked at her in the back seat and she noticed me. She stared daggers at me and I went back to looking at the road. She began to say something to herself, she was probably muttering about my behaviour.

We continued to drive. The roads were quiet as it was a Sunday morning. As I was staring out at the buildings that passed my mind began to phase out, it jolted back when I received a text from my phone. It was from the director of the Vale Symphony Orchestra.

Is it true? Are you leaving to teach a rich girl? The message read.

Yeah, I am, she has potential and tons of it, I answered.

Fine then, will you still be coming in for part time conducting? I need to know so that I can find a new conductor.

I don't know, probably, depends on the girl's schedule. And her name is Weiss Schnee by the way. I replied.

Find out soon, I wouldn't want to lose an esteemed musician such as yourself.

Will do, I replied ending the conversation.

I was about to put my phone back into my pocket when I received another text. This time from Blake, Good morning, she greeted.

Good Morning Blake, I answered.

Is it true? I heard from Yang that you were leaving, is our group finished? She asked, I could sense concern in the message.

Well, I am moving, that's for sure. At this I could see that she was beginning to type up a message.

Will that be the end of the group? I have no idea; it really depends on my schedule. I continued.

But I'm thinking that it'll be very late practices, if anything. I tried to assure her, hopefully making the situation better.

It took a few minutes for her to come up form an answer. Fine, I trust you. Just, don't leave us, okay?

I'd never leave you guys, I answered with a smiley face.

Good to hear, Blake answered, ending the conversation.

I put my phone back into my pocket and leaned back on the car seat. I heard Weiss saying a poem, or some kind of literature. I looked back and she was staring up into the sky.

"Magic Mirror on the wall, show me who I am. How does one mend their own life …" She began to say before she noticed me looking.

She immediately stopped and turned away. Oh brother, I thought as I fixated myself onto the road. We began to fall asleep, only to come back an hour later when I heard a small creaking sound. Opening my eyes I saw that we were at the gate and that a person attending the gate had opened it up.

The mansion was pristine and beautiful; the grass was a fresh vibrant green colour that surrounded the circular driveway. The mansion was large and rectangular, almost like a castle on top of a hill, with several towers along the grounds. It looked very vast and large as the white marble extended outwards. It was larger than the size of the football field and had a dome roof. There were also pillars along the front.

"You live here?" I questioned out of amazement.

"Yes," Weiss answered.

"Must be nice," I replied.

"Not really," She said softly.

"What was that Weiss?" I asked.

"Nothing," She said sighing and looking at her home.

Hector parked in front of his door, several servants were already waiting for us. They opened up the car doors and escorted us out. I didn't really need to be escorted out but I thanked them. They bowed as they led the way inside.

The mansion was huge with a large front entrance. There was a set of stairs leading upwards; to a large door which I assumed to be the master bedroom. There were hallways along the left and right leading to several other rooms, which I assumed to be just as large. There were several paintings on the walls with sculptures on podiums as well. There were two sets of hallways, one near the stairs and one closer to the door. I assumed in one of these rooms I would be teaching.

I wasn't greedy but I couldn't help admiring the size and expansiveness of the mansion. Weiss simply drew a deep breath and went upstairs into her room on the left. Hector welcomed me to his mansion, "Well Joseph, welcome to your new home. Your belongings and your car will come later today. The parking lot is underground and the elevator is right next to the main stairs. Make yourself comfortable," He said heading up the stairs.

"Thanks," I said beginning to go after Weiss to begin the lessons but a servant stopped me.

"Come, let me show you your room," he said leading me upstairs and to the right.

There were several rooms evenly spaced out but at the end there was one room that was much larger than the rest. The spacing between the second last and last door was about the size of one and a half high school classrooms. The servant lead me into the room and opened it for me, I saw my bedroom, there was a large dark red dresser in the right hand corner near the door, two sets of massive windows and a four poster bed along the wall. There were also large shelves on the wall and two other rooms. A large work desk was situated near the bed. Overall, the room was quite empty and it needed to be filled up. It was quite different than my flat in downtown Vale which was small and cozy. This seemed to be too huge to be true.

"There is also a washroom and the study room," he said pointing towards the two doors. "If you need anything then let me or any of the other staff know. I hope you enjoy your stay," He continued bowing at me before turning to leave.

"Thanks," I said before I was began heading into the study room. "Actually," I began to say to the servant.

"Yes sir?" he answered.

"Could you bring me some breakfast, maybe a BLT sandwich? I haven't eaten yet," I requested.

"Of course sir," He said bowing before heading off.

I decided to check the room out, the washroom was amazing and brilliant, there was a walk in shower, and a full length bathtub. There was also a medicine cabinet above the sink which held several hygienic tools. The study room on the other hand was large and expansive with a two tables situated in front of the black board. One was closer to the board which I assumed was the teacher's table. The second was farther and meant for the student, in this case Weiss. There were several books piled on the desk, I went over and noticed that it was all theory books. They were supposed to be teaching tools, I didn't really need them but it would be nice to use them as work books for Weiss.

There were also shelves of books along the walls stretching towards the ceiling. There was a ladder along the wall which I assumed was for the shelves. They seemed to be mostly books about philosophy and a few fictional books. This also connected to room was also connected to the hallway directly and had a few statues for decoration. The floor was made out of granite and had a border like pattern surrounding a large carpet in the center.

There was also a piano near the black board which would be handy for practicing tone and pitch. It seemed that everything was ready for me to teach so I decided to go over to Weiss' room to begin the first day of class.

The halls were mostly empty as I walked through; it was rather quiet, creating a lonely atmosphere. I began to walk the halls when I realized that I didn't know where Weiss' room was. I registered that all the doors looked identical, so there was not going to be an easy way. I just began to knock politely; the rooms were mostly empty as there was no response from any of the rooms I knocked on.

Arriving at one of the doors in the middle I began to knock, when I was in the process of knocking on the first time my hand slipped as the door opened. My eyes met Weiss' cold blue eyes; she was tapping her foot impatiently.

"Well?" Weiss said.

"How'd you know I was going to knock?" I asked.

"Oh please, you were stumbling around and knocking on every single door looking for me," Weiss replied with an arrogant tone while rolling her eyes.

I was a bit embarrassed, "Well then, time for class."

"Fine," She answered grudgingly coming along with me to my study room.

Opening up the door before my bedroom on the end I let her in. She took a seat and I tossed her the advanced rudiments book on my desk.

I went over to the teacher's desk and sat down. Looking over at Weiss she was waiting for instruction rather impatiently. "Flip to the last review test," I instructed. She did so and waited for further instruction, "Now complete it."

"What?" She asked, puzzled.

"I said complete it," I replied sternly.

"You seriously expect me to complete that? You've haven't even taught me yet," Weiss said with a hint of malice.

"Yes, I do. Now complete them," I stood my ground. I wanted to test her theory skills and I believed that doing the last review of the Advanced Rudiments book would test her. And if I did let her know it would ruin the drive or reason for completing it if I told her it was a diagnostic.

I looked at her as I sat in my chair and her eyes met mine. I tried to put my best stern expression, she sighed angrily and began to work on it. "Fine," She grumbled taking out a pencil and beginning to write.

I decided to take this time to look through the various books piled on my desk to understand what their teaching curriculum was, and also to pass the time. I wanted to make a note of where the work sheets are so I began to search for paper in the desk. Finding a pad of legal paper and a pen in the top drawer I began to jot down where the work sheets were in the various text books. This was a laborious task as there was a huge pile on my desk which I needed to root through.

After about an hour Weiss returned with the book in hand. I saw that it was completed to some extent, "Good, that's enough theory for today."

"What? Is that it?" She asked in disbelief.

"Yes, that will be all, now, time to make some music," I said making my way over to the piano. Weiss grudgingly followed me again as I situated myself on the piano bench. "Tell me Weiss, have you ever touched a piano?"

"Rarely," She answered.

"Well that's a shame, the piano is a mandatory tool for any vocalist," I answered. I took a paused and began to warm up my hands on the piano. "Oh well, that'll come another day," I continued. "Have you thought about your breathing techniques?"

"Of course!" She answered immediately.

"That's good," I played middle C on the piano and could hear that the tuning was perfect. Someone must've come and tuned it specifically for me. "Please sing middle C then."

She sang the note and I could hear her beautiful voice, but, something seemed to be obstructing it. I got up and she began to stop, "Continue," I instructed. Going around I began to inspect her body, her body was perfectly straight which allowed for the air to come out easily. Her head was level allowing for excellent air flow. I then put my right hand right below her chest, her cheeks reddened but I paid no attention to it. Instead I was focused on the lack of decline on her diaphragm.

"Weiss, tell me where you should be breathing from," I asked with a hint of malice.

"Your diaphragm," She muttered in defeat.

"What was that?" I asked cupping my ear in a gesture of control. "I didn't hear you."

"Your diaphragm sir," She answered plainly.

"Then why are you not breathing from it?" I asked with a malicious tone. She stayed silent as she looked at the ground. "Exactly, now correct yourself."

The rest of the day was spent improving her tone and intonation. She did not disagree with me as she realized that she was wrong. She steadily improved her tone, I dismissed her while instructing for her to practice breathing from her diaphragm, and that I would check again the next day. In a way, her obedience reminded me of the three girls, Ruby, Yang, and Blake. They all trusted me and agreed to every single suggestion I gave them to improve their performances.

One of the servants gave me the schedule for the weekdays. I was to teach her in the evenings from five to eight. I thought about Ruby, Yang and Blake, if they can work with practicing until midnight then this would all work out. No, it would work out; the girls wouldn't give up that easily. They were all excellent players after all and I could see their talent maturing every time I saw they practice.

I smiled before leaving the classroom and retiring to my bedroom. Things are going to be alright.