Chapter 8:

A/N Hi everyone, I'm back! First and foremost, I would like to apologise for my long absence, I have had a lot going on in my life as of late but I'm finally here with a new chapter! Thank you so much to everyone who reviewed it's so greatly appreciated. Its been a long time since I've said this but, on with the story!

"I am aware you specialise in the kidnapping of infants?"

The shock of this statement invaded the eyes of everyone else present in the room. Robertson at his dodgy dealings being uncovered, but the faces of the three girls witnessing the scene before them told a very different story. One of denial. Surely Mr Schnee couldn't be implying what was so blindingly clear... Their shock was cut off abruptly by the cold voice they had come to associate with Mr Schnee. Robertson fell to his knees begging not to lose his job, "I'll make you a deal Robertson, if you attain one such infant for me... for my wife to love and to continue my legacy then I will tell no one of your little… business." Mr Schnee's face stretched into a terrible grin, that curdled the blood of all those who looked upon it. Well, all that is except a certain cloak wearing, scythe wielding spectator... who it seemed had entered a state of shock.

Ruby POV:

That sick twisted bastard! Those were the only coherent words I could manage to form, as everything started to pull back the curtain on a horrible truth. Everything she knew, or thought she knew, was a lie. The very foundation on which Weiss had built her barriers to protect herself from the outside world, those of pride, a cold haughty exterior learned from her father and the instilled demand of familial loyalty, had come crumbling down along with her sense of self, her identity. I didn't notice the changing scenery around me, nor the fading of the black and white colour scheme that had begun to be as overlooked as common daylight. It was only when Blake's hand came to rest on my shoulder that the change of scenery dawned on me. We were stood in a grave yard, which ironically caused me to think that the previous colour scheme may have been more appropriate... Wait. The scene was coloured! That means that... And then I spotted her, through the crowd of mourners that stood before us, I would know those white locks anywhere.

"Weiss!" I called out to her, and that alerted my team mates to what I already knew, as I weaved through the crowd making a beeline for the younger version of the heiress, although once I got there I wished I hadn't. She looked to be only about 6 years of age, the eyes of the girl who would grow up to become one of the strongest people I knew, held such sorrow that it caused my heart to shift restlessly within my chest. This aching only increased tenfold as I was joined by Yang and Blake, to witness her place a lone white rose on a pure white coffin as she whispered the simple yet flooring words: "I'm sorry mum." Weiss then turned her back on the pristinely polished coffin and the identically polished grave, with perfectly symmetrical lettering, to walk through the parted group of mourners, even in her sorrow she attempted to retain her perfect posture. Her father was nowhere to be seen. I motioned for the team to follow her, but the flash of something on the ground pulled my attention away from the disbanding mourners, I moved closer only to discover that it was a newspaper. The headline read: 'Brutal White fang attacks leave the Schnee empire a broken family!' My curiosity got the better of me as I read on, 'Mrs Silvia Schnee, wife of the famous Mr Jacques Schnee, was traveling with her daughter to their home Monday evening, when a surprise attack allowed their daughter Miss Weiss Schnee to barely escape with her life. Witnesses have stated that the girl's mother stepped in front of the strike aimed for her daughter's heart just as aid was arriving on the scene.' "Oh, Weiss."

Yang POV

I heard Ruby utter the words "Oh Weiss" only to realise that instead of being by my side she was in fact knelt on the ground, her figure unnervingly still amongst the movement of the shadows dressed all in black. A seed of worry wrangled its roots around my heart as Ruby, ever hyperactive never sits still unless forced to Ruby, stayed perfectly still; a statue of her usually animated self.

"Ruby?" I was shocked at the level of worry I found contained within my own voice as I approached her, only for her to wordlessly stand and motion to a newspaper on the ground. The pained expression on her face caused warning bells to echo their way through my mind. Blake leaned over my shoulder to read the article with me. Any happiness I felt, due to my giddy insides- a symptom of Blake's hot breath caressing my neck- was instantly snatched from me as I read the horror that was spelled out before me in a black and white. I opened my mouth to begin a futile attempt to lighten the mood, but then noticed the alabaster mane of Weiss disappearing inside a sleek black car with blacked out windows to match. Ruby followed my gaze and seemed to come to the same conclusion as she motioned for us to follow, the terrible truth we had just uncovered being pushed to the back of my mind for the moment, as I followed my sister without hesitation. We made our way to the lone black car eerily waiting on the path outside the burial grounds of the now deserted church.

Ruby POV

I stepped inside the car followed by the comforting presence of my sister and the understanding calm of Blake, only to find that instead of being the interior of the car that's very colour scheme suggested mourning, we were back in the same dank cell from before. A slightly older more tired looking Weiss was sprawled unceremoniously on the unforgiving stone floor. She looked to be about 11, however she was very different to the scared child from before. Where there was once a wild fear in her eyes there was now something much worse, cold acceptance. My analysis of her was abruptly cut short as the cell door swung open. A maid, a fox faunus with caring hazel eyes that currently sported a rather worried expression, entered the cell and immediately dropped to her knees beside Weiss and began to examine her.

"What happened this time?" Her voice seemed to break Weiss out of her stupor, as a little of the light that I knew returned to her eyes as she seemingly recognised the maid. "Just the usual failure to live up to his expectations as heiress Ava, nothing too serious." The woman who I now knew to be called Ava, supported a clearly injured Weiss and began to help her out of what I now believed to be a cellar. We followed them up the stairs and into a lavish yet disturbingly sterile looking castle. Were I not already aware that someone occupied the residence I would've believed it to be one of those lavish show-homes, the clean-cut edges and suspiciously clean surfaces, worlds away from the homey comfort I knew so well. The look on the maid's face clearly awaited more details, so with a sigh Weiss began to recount how her father had returned home to find her reading a book on faunus rights and he had punished her.

My blood began to boil even more at this, my fists tightening into wound up coils of rage, a rage that only subsided with Weiss's whisper of: "you're not all the same" as Ava tucked Weiss into bed. I could see Blake's eyes shining with tears in the lamplight at the sincerity found in Weiss's voice, and I felt the first stirrings of happiness I had had since arriving in Weiss's mind, at the sight of Yang silently taking hold of Blake's hand. However, I was so engrossed in the touching scene before me that I didn't notice the shift in backdrop, the world melting away to be replaced by a vast room. A vast room that contained an incredibly large suit of armour…

A/N As always please r+r I'd love to hear any feedback you guys have for me, as it helps me to improve! As always, thanks for reading guys and it's good to be back.