Days passed by unnoticed, leading Vale deeper into the cold of winter. As the weeks went on, people started to retreat to their homes earlier, longing for the warmth of their families and their fireplaces.

With time, Ruby grew used to her new frantic routine. She would wake up every day and head to work, where she would keep the princess heir safe and sound. While Weiss wasn't as harsh to her as she had been during the first day, she was far from being kind or even friendly. Ruby was bothered by the odd demeanor, not for herself, but because she felt the princess was hiding some very unpleasant emotions.

When dusk came, she was free to go back home. Yang always asked her about how her work had been, almost as if she was waiting for a sign to go bash the princess's head or something equally treasonous. While Yang was proud of her sister's capability and independence, she would much prefer she worked somewhere she was properly appreciated.

But what really had Ruby waiting anxiously to go back home was Blake. There was something very satisfying about teaching the faunus to read and other similar things, and, after some time, Blake started to break out of her shell, even displaying a somewhat cheery attitude – in her own quiet way.

Overall, this winter was shaping up to be the best in her life. She had an important job to maintain a welcoming home to come back to. Ruby couldn't ask for anything else, except for everything to stay that way forever.

"Ruby!"

The young knightess startled awake and found herself at the end of a fierce glare from Weiss. She had somehow dozed off against one of the princess's room, when she should have been keeping watch at the balcony for any possible intruders.

She found the day's task rather unnecessary, since the princess was inside the room, and with company too. A painter had been called to perpetuate Weiss's image at her seventeen years of age – apparently, there was a long-standing tradition in the royal family, where every single member of it would have themselves painted once a year.

Even Velvet was there, the rabbit faunus slave, frantically moving around to attend to the princess's needs. Ruby was more than displeased by Velvet's condition, but at least she could take solace in the fact that she wasn't mistreated, outside of heated tones of voice directed at her. The redhead made a point to be as kind to her as possible without angering Weiss.

"Well?" The princess intoned, becoming even angrier when she noticed her bodyguard was drifting off once again. "Did you spot any assassin in your daydreams?"

"N-no, my princess," Ruby gulped. "They were very pleasant."

"I could tell," Weiss's eyes narrowed. "Don't do it again, or I'll be having a talk with the General. He would be very embarrassed to learn his protégé was sleeping at work."

Ruby nodded energetically until the princess rolled her eyes and turned back to face the painter. The man scratched his chin, dirtying his clothes with the end of his brush without noticing. Ruby muffled a giggle and looked away innocently.

"Your Highness, it might be best for you to lift your chin a bit higher, and look a little to your left. I believe that would provide a wondrous angle," the painter said, and Weiss shuffled around in her seat to follow his suggestion. When she was over, he still didn't look too pleased. "Hmm… There is something missing…"

"Missing?" Weiss repeated self-consciously.

"It is not a matter of beauty, my princess. I assure you, in that, you are unmatched," he shook his head. "But the image lacks a certain kind of… personality."

Ruby and Velvet shared a look and braced themselves, expecting Weiss to be outraged at his explanation. It sounded like he was accusing her of having no personality, or something close enough to that.

"Allow me to explain myself further," the painter said fearfully, noticing a dangerous change in the way the princess stared at him. "A painting like this should not only perpetuate your physical appearance, but also who you are. For example, your sister the Queen's painting depicted her signing a treaty. When one admires that painting, what can he or she gather from it?"

"That she signs a lot of treaties!" Ruby chirped, eager to prove herself wise amongst the nobility.

"…No," the painter replied dryly. "It depicts her as a collected and just ruler, wise enough to settle the matters of her kingdom with a pen than with a sword."

"Ah, yes," Ruby nodded slowly. "That was my second thought."

Weiss glared at her bodyguard, silently ordering her to cease her foolish attempts at interpreting royal paintings.

"What do you suggest for my painting, then?" She asked.

"As the princess heir, you possess some qualities your sister simply cannot hold. You are the next in line, and so you are like a symbol of hope that the lineage will go on," the painter mused. "And that brings you closer to the people. While the queen rules them, the princess watches over with kindness."

Ruby couldn't help but feel like the painter had lost the reason of his explanation midway through it, but she didn't know much about nobility, as Weiss had pointed out many times already, so she stayed quiet.

"Right," Weiss frowned. She didn't seem too fond of the idea either. "I'm closer to the people."

"Yes!" The painter exclaimed joyously, then pointed at Ruby. The redhead almost jumped out the balcony in her startled surprise. "You even go so far as to have a commoner as a personal bodyguard. Perhaps she could be depicted in your painting to demonstrate that kindness and tolerance! Yes, that would be marvelous indeed! Come, Ruby, is that her name? Come-"

"No," Weiss interrupted firmly, that single word silencing the painter as if she'd stood up and pointed a blade at his throat. "We are finished for today. Come back next week with a better idea."

He nodded mutely and exited the room, taking his painting materials with him. Ruby stared with puzzlement as the princess crossed her arms and looked at her feet with her lips forming a straight, narrow line.

Velvet stood around awkwardly and looked at Ruby for help, but the redhead just shrugged, not knowing that to make of the scene either. Hesitantly, the faunus filled a glass with cool water and approached the princess.

"M-milady?" The faunus called. "Maybe you would like a glass to refresh yourself?"

"Humph. Thank you, Velvet," Weiss said shortly. "I have no further need of your services. You may go."

Velvet nodded gratefully and left the room hurriedly. Weiss took a sip of her water, then stood from her seat and walked to the balcony. She stared at the city below intensely, while Ruby stood behind her, not sure if she should speak up or not. She did not have to come to a decision, though, as the princess, for the first time since they had met, took it upon herself to start a conversation.

"Tell me, Ruby," she spoke heavily. "What do the people really think of me?"

"I… Well…" The redhead scratched her head, stalling for time. The last thing she wanted to do was say something that would upset the princess even more. "They don't think much about you. Everyone is too busy carrying on their lives to wonder about yours."

"I see," Weiss sighed. "So there would be no difference if I did not exist?"

"No!" Ruby exclaimed. "You are important. I mean, you're part of the royal line. People look up to you and your sister. And… Well, if you didn't exist, I wouldn't have a job."

Surprisingly enough, a smile appeared on Weiss's face. It wasn't wide, but it was sincere.

"I appreciate your kind words, Ruby, but we both know they're not true – at least not fully so," she said. "My parents weren't assassinated because people looked up to them, but because they were hated by some. I can blame the White Fang all I want, but I'm sure there were many other groups that were glad to see them gone too," Weiss shook her head. "I imagine there are many who would welcome my death, as well as my sister's."

"That's…" Ruby's voice trailed off. She really wanted to cheer up the princess, but it was hard to lie about a matter so massive and intricate.

"You are the living proof of that, Ruby," Weiss reminded. "I came this close to dying the day we met… And that was the work of the White Fang, our loudest enemies. I fear what would happen if more discreet forces began to take action against the throne."

Ruby shook her head, at a loss for what to say. If there was one thing she had learned about Weiss the past weeks, it was that she could be as stubborn as a Grimm most of time. The young bodyguard decided that it was better to stay silent and let the princess mull over her own words.

She would quickly come to regret that decision when Weiss snapped her fingers and turned to face her with a victorious curve to her lips.

"I will visit the town tomorrow, to learn how my people truly live!"

"What?!" Ruby blurted out. "That's insane!"

"Oh, shut it. I'll have you to protect me, if it's my safety you're worried about," Weiss crossed her arms. "And who are you to call the princess heir insane? I could have you thrown in jail for that insolence."

"I'm sorry…" The redhead looked down at her feet meekly. "I just don't think that's sensible, is all…"

Weiss huffed and turned her back to her, determined to see her plan through. Ruby could only mentally fret about the numerous ways everything could go wrong.

Blake's eyes flew along the letters of her current book, occasionally halting to examine a word that was spelled in a complicated or unexpected manner. She had surprised both Ruby and herself with how quickly she'd mastered reading, having already gone through half of the fairy tale book's chapters. Reading out loud was still a struggle, mostly because she felt foolish when she did it, especially when she would speak a word incorrectly and her friends would laugh about it.

Friends. It felt weird to think that way. For all her life, Blake hadn't had the opportunity, or even the will, to make friends. She had had fellow slaves who she would share a cage with, but they were too miserable to even speak to each other. Now, she wondered how she had been able to live like that, without the support of another person.

At first, she had been wary of Yang, mostly because she had made it very clear that she would kick her out the door as soon as a mistake was made. But it wasn't long before Blake understood that Yang only said those things because she cared for Ruby's safety – and now, she had a feeling she would be given the benefit of the doubt, not condemned immediately.

Yang was… unusual, to put it mildly. She had a youthful appearance and a cheerful attitude to accompany it, but she was the one who cooked, cleaned the house, made sure they were healthy… There was a motherly sense to her, and Blake was quick to embrace that.

Ruby… Blake was not sure how she felt about her. Sometimes, she was just a young girl, laughing and playing around like someone below her age. She would speak hours upon hours about her favorite tales, as if she lived in a whole other fantasy world…

And then other times, she appeared to be a completely different person, a warrior too hardened for her few years. Blake would often catch her hands flying to her sword and pistol when she heard suspicious footsteps nearing the house, and every time that happened, her silver eyes would change – how, Blake could not describe, but it would chill her to her bones.

She made Blake feel safe, but differently from how Yang did it. She could spend hours with her and not even once think about what she had lived through for the first seventeen years of her life. It was an effect both marvelous and frightening.

That was why, when the door to the house opened, Blake immediately closed her book and smiled.

"Hi, Ruby." She greeted, trying to keep a level tone despite her joy.

Yang stepped inside and raised an eyebrow curiously.

"Not Ruby." She stated simply.

"Oh. Hi, Yang," Blake frowned. "I'm sorry. You've never arrived before Ruby before."

"That is true," Yang chuckled. "I'm pretty sure she runs all the way from the castle to here every day."

"It sounds like something she would do."

Yang filled a glass with water for herself and turned to look at the faunus. Blake's eyes wandered around the house awkwardly. She wasn't exactly uncomfortable, but they had never been alone before, and Blake didn't know how to start a conversation in that situation.

"Can I… ask a question?" Blake spoke hesitantly. "It's a tad personal."

"I love personal questions!" Yang exclaimed.

"Ah," the faunus dwindled her thumbs, wondering how to proceed. "You and Ruby… Well, you don't look alike… at all. Are you real sisters?"

Yang rolled her eyes, as if she had heard that question a great deal of times already.

"Yes, we are real sisters," she replied. "Though we have different mothers. Our father was quite the gentleman, if you get my meaning," she winked playfully. A moment passed as she looked to the side, a contemplative look on her face. "My mother died when I was a baby, so I never met her. So Ruby's mother was mine too, practically."

"I see," Blake nodded. "I'm sorry. That was an insensitive question to ask."

"Pff! Don't worry about it!" Yang rolled her eyes. "I mean, when I start asking about slavery and such things, then we'll be having insensitive questions!" A moment passed before she winced. "And that was an insensitive joke. Sorry."

Blake shrugged. It did upset her to be reminded of that, but she didn't want Yang to be treating her like a fragile doll.

Not too long after, Ruby entered the house with a dreadful expression on her face. Yang hummed and put a hand on her chin, trying to deduce what was happening with her sister.

"Let me guess," she said. "Princess High and Mighty yelled at you again."

"No," Ruby frowned. "Actually, she was kind of nice. We had a conversation… I think…" She groaned. "She's decided she's going on a secret mission tomorrow."

"A secret mission?" Blake repeated curiously.

"She wants to visit the town without anyone knowing," the redhead pretend to weep openly. "And I'm supposed to protect her."

Yang shook her head in disapproval. That was such a princess-like idea to have; going to the town unprotected to learn how the peasants lived. As if that would do any good to anyone.

"So, what's the worst that can happen?" She asked tiredly. "It's not anyone knows what she looks like."

"Silver hair." Ruby stated matter-of-factly.

"Even so. If anyone tries to kill her, you'll be there to protect her. You and the whole Guard." Yang pointed out.

"She doesn't want the Guard to know she's there!" The redhead exclaimed in frustration. "Look, I need your help. Can you come along, just to make sure she's safe?"

Yang pretended to consider the matter for a few seconds, then smiled widely.

"You mean I can take the opportunity to harass a snobby princess who has been demeaning my little sister at every moment possible? Yes." She cracked her knuckles, her eyes flashing red for a moment, as if she were making several malicious plans already.

"I might regret asking for your help," Ruby realized. She turned to look at her other friend. "Blake?"

The faunus looked at her confusedly.

"You want me to come too?" She asked. "You know I'm not a warrior. I can't help you."

"That's not why I'm asking," Ruby smiled. "I thought you'd like to explore the town a bit. You'd be safe with us around."

Blake frowned and looked away, not liking the idea one bit. Her first attempt at going out of the house had also been her last. But Ruby neared her in the blink of an eye, joining her hands together and staring at her pleadingly. Blake tried to divert her eyes, but it was hard to ignore Ruby when she acted like that.

"Even if I wanted to go, I wouldn't be able to," she argued. "I would be recognized immediately, and then I would be captured and you two would be executed."

"The princess would be in trouble too," Yang added. "Which almost makes it worth the death penalty."

"We can cover you cat ears!" Ruby suggested. "A hat, or… A bow!"

Blake was about to say that would never work, but Ruby was already running around the house searching for something to solve their problem. Yang chuckled at the faunus' dismayed face.

After a few minutes, Ruby found something. Ignoring Blake's protests, she spun around her and fixed something on her head, then pushed her in front of a mirror. Blake inspected her reflection and discovered a bow made of a purple silk ribbon was covering her feline ears.

"Ruby!" Yang stifled a giggle. "She can't go out like that! It looks ridiculous!"

Blake nodded fervently.

"No, it doesn't!" Ruby pouted and crossed her arms. "I think it looks cute."

Blake stopped nodding and tilted her head to the side, as if to assess Ruby's statement for herself. She felt both of the sister's stares on the back of her head, pressuring her into a decision. After a while, she turned and shrugged.

"This will have to do." She said.

"Yes!" Ruby exclaimed happily. "This will be fantastic! An adventure with my sister, my best friend, and a princess!"

"Hooray," Yang echoed dryly. "I can't wait until it all goes wrong."

"Oh, it's all going to go wrong…"

Weiss looked up with obvious annoyance, her face and silver hair barely concealed beneath a gray cowl. She had also gone the length of arranging a simple white dress, knowing that a girl wearing one of her usual clothes in town would attract a lot of unwanted attention. She thought the whole plan was very smart, but Ruby clearly didn't agree.

"Ruby, nothing is going to go wrong," the princess chided. "The only way people would recognize me is if I showed my hair, but it's hidden. That's what the cowl is for."

"I know. You said that already…"

Weiss checked her belt for her rapier. It wasn't the most common of weapons to brand around, but she thought it would be safer to have it at hand than to leave it behind to keep up appearances.

She heard something being muttered about stubbornness and princesses, but when she looked at Ruby, she had her mouth shut tight.

"I'm ready," Weiss said. "Let us go. May the Moon watch over us."

"Milady, we're going to need more than the Moon watching over us." Ruby commented nervously.

"Shush!"

The bodyguard counted to five mentally, then started to move, Weiss following close behind.

Luckily, Ruby had been able to convince the princess away from leaving the castle by climbing down a rope from her balcony, but their exit would still be difficult. They would have to go through the front entrance, and until they reached it, there was a big risk of them coming across someone who would recognize Weiss's face and report their escapade to the queen.

The Moon really seemed to be watching over them, because they managed to avoid any of that and reach the outside of the castle. Ruby sighed in relief and continued walking towards the front archway, gaining confidence with every step, until a familiar voice shouted at her from above.

"Hey! Ruby!"

Weiss panicked and hid behind Ruby. She only realized how ridiculous the effort was when had already gone through it, and by then it was too late to go back.

Ruby looked up and saw Jaune Arc standing on top of the wall, grinning jovially at her, with lady Pyrrha at his side. She would have wondered why the two were together, but her current situation left her little room for that.

"H-hi!" She squealed, and felt a kick on the back of her ankle.

"Sound more guilty, will you!" Weiss whispered.

"How are you doing, Jaune?" Ruby asked loudly, hoping to appear casual and avoid suspicion.

"I'm fine," he replied, a frown appearing on his forehead. "Aren't you supposed to be guarding the princess or something?"

"Y-yes! She, uh… Wants bread! From the town! You know how princesses are, so spoiled and-" Another kick. "A-anyway, I have to go before she has me executed!"

Ruby walked away hurriedly, Weiss struggling to keep close to her back. Once they were past the archway, the princess made distance between the two of them and swiped at her clothing, as if she it had been dirtied.

"Who was that?" She asked confusedly.

"That was Jaune," Ruby informed, still nervous about their adventure. "He was a novice under General Ozpin, just like me. Well, I think he still is a novice…"

"Oh, great. We have novices on the walls," Weiss said sarcastically. "I bet no problems will arise out of that."

As they descended towards the town, Ruby notice the princess was becoming more and more excited by the second. It was odd to see Weiss in such a happy mood – or any other mood not angry or somber, for that matter –, and finally Ruby understood how much she truly wanted to make this trip.

When they reached the streets, Ruby almost lost Weiss as she wandered off towards the shops and stands. She had to drag her away forcedly, which obviously resulted in a lot of process, but Weiss was smart enough not to drive her bodyguard away in an unknown location.

"This is… marvelous," Weiss muttered. "It looks so different outside of a carriage! It seems more… real…"

"Yes, but that's the more… rich part of town." Ruby noted.

"What?" The princess whipped her head around in astonishment. "Explain yourself."

"You do know not every part of the town is well off, right?"

Weiss frowned. She supposed it made sense – it was impossible for everyone to be rich. But the way Ruby spoke suggested some people led very, very hard lives in her town. She felt foolish about not having realized that truth before, but she found comfort in the fact that she was remedying that naivety now.

"So, where should we go?" Weiss asked.

"You don't know?" Ruby looked at her in evident panic.

"Obviously not, you dolt!" The silver-haired girl shook her head in disbelief. "I don't live down here. You need to guide me."

Ruby relaxed after a few moments. This helped things immensely, since she wouldn't have to convince Weiss to change their path to meet with Yang and Blake. Now they could go directly to the town square, where the two were waiting.

Of course, the princess hadn't been informed of that detail of their trip, but she hadn't asked anything either, so she couldn't be mad. At least that was the logic Ruby used to reassure herself.

When they finally reached the square, Ruby spotted Yang and Blake standing near its center, where a small fountain was installed. Blake seemed very jumpy, which had Yang calming her down. Ruby made sure Weiss was following her, then hurried towards her friends.

"Oh, great! You're here!" Yang exclaimed. "Can you tell Blake to stop worrying for a minute? At this rate, she'll bring doom upon herself."

"Stop joking about it!" Blake rubbed her arms and looked around nervously. "There are so many people…"

"Don't worry, Blake. Nobody is going to hurt you." Ruby tapped a finger on her sword's hilt and winked. Blake kept throwing glances around, but she seemed to calm down somewhat.

Weiss tore her attention away from the people around her to look at the two unfamiliar faces. A pair of blue eyes met with violet, and both straightened at each other.

"So that's her," Yang said. "See, Blake? I told you she'd look scrawny."

"Excuse me?!" Weiss almost shouted. "Who are you to speak that way about the prin-"

Ruby covered her mouth with a hand, muffling the shout before Weiss attracted the attention of everyone around them. The princess glared at her furiously, then took a step back and made an effort of showing she would keep her voice down.

"Princess, this is my sister, Yang, and that is our friend, Blake," Ruby introduced, excitement dripping into her voice. "Yang, Blake, this is the princess heir, Weiss Schnee."

Blake crossed her hands behind her back and avoided Weiss's eyes, while Yang made such an elaborate bow it was obvious she was mocking the princess. It took all of Weiss's self-control not to start shouting again.

"Well, this is certainly a surprise," Weiss noted, her eyes piercing Ruby like daggers. "You did not inform me we'd have… company."

"By the Moon," Yang voiced, as if out of breath. "She is the perfect example of a snobby princess."

"Y-you!" Weiss found herself stuttering, much to her dismay.

"This is priceless!"

Weiss took a deep breath.

"Ruby," she said in a voice so sweet, it sent chills down the redhead's spine. "Where should we go now?"

"Well," Ruby gulped. "How would you like that bread I mentioned to Jaune?"

"Bread. Hmm, that might be interesting."

With that loudmouth Yang around, Weiss would never admit she had never eaten such common food before, at least not without other things to accompany it.

"We could go to my bakery." Yang suggested.

"You run a bakery?" Weiss asked, admiration creeping in her voice.

"Of course not. I'm eighteen years old, that would be incredibly stupid," the blonde elbowed Blake lightly. "Aren't princesses supposed to be smart?"

The faunus looked away innocently, but her mouth curved into a smirk.

Ruby began to drag Weiss towards the bakery before she could announce her sister's execution.

You know, a running theme in this story seems to be that the chapters always end up being longer than I expect them to be. This chapter was going to show the results of Weiss's trip, but I felt like it needed to be split up. It's cool, though. More content is rarely a bad thing.

I think this chapter should answer your shipping questions, yes? Or at least it gave you guys a faint idea of how things are going to work out. But you shouldn't expect things to be very simple...

So, I decided to substitude Victorian with Renaissance. My gratitude to Genie66 for suggesting the idea! Do note that this is just a general description of the setting, not everything is exactly equal to the real world stuff (especially because the Renaissance era lasted several centuries). Weapons, in particular, are much more advanced. It's more of an aesthetic thing than anything else, really.

One last thing! If anyone out there is willing to draw a cover for this story, I'd love for you to contact me. But only if you want to! I'm not holding a gun to your head or anything. I'd definitely not stop uploading if no one stepped up. Nope. Not a chance. (pls give cover pls)

-Zeroan