Weiss' steps echoed down the halls as she walked away from the feast that was occurring. She saw someone whom she never expected to see again, never hoped to see again. Fear started to rise in the girls mind, prompting her to walk faster. The man who stood in that grand hall had brought back some of the memories she buried deep down in the subconscious of her own mind. She needed to leave that place, she needed to escape.
In the daze that Weiss was stuck in, she didn't hear the footsteps that were coming up behind her. Before she knew it, a hand grabbed hold of her shoulder. Weiss reacted to the hand in a more violent way than she had believed she would. She grabbed the hand in question and threw the person attached to it over her shoulder. She was about to throw her fist into the person's face, her hand already raise up in the air, but then she noticed who it was that was trying to get her attention.
"Of course it would be you," Weiss sighed. When she realized that it was just Ruby, Weiss felt less threatened, and she stopped herself from hurting her.
Ruby chuckled once Weiss extended her hand to help the brunette up. "Yeah, I probably should have thought that through a bit more huh," Ruby said as she was pulled upright.
"Fine, just promise me you won't do that again," Weiss said. She rubbed her forehead with her arm, realizing there was a very thin layer of sweat coming from her body.
"I called your name like, five times, and you didn't hear me though," Ruby responded.
Weiss sighed. "I see your point, though please try to not startle me like that again. I would rather not have to throw you down onto the ground again."
Ruby nodded. "Ok then, I guess I could promise that much, I guess," She said to Weiss. Ruby then remembered why she came over to Weiss in the first place. "Is everything ok with you? You just ran off all of a sudden, hell you knocked me over and spilled my ale in the process."
Weiss suddenly felt guilty over what she did, mostly because of what happened to Ruby. "Ruby, believe me, I'm sorry about what happened. I just needed to get out of there. I don't want to talk about it anymore and would rather just be alone, ok?"
Ruby sighed, she really wanted to help Weiss out. Unfortunately it didn't seem like that would be likely tonight. "Ok," Ruby said after a few moments of hesitation. "I guess if that's what you want then." Ruby turned to walk away, back to the festivities, but stopped herself before she left, turning back to look at Weiss. "As much as I want to help, I don't want to force it on you, but I'm here if you need it, Weiss." Ruby started to walk away, leaving Weiss with a few parting words for the night. "You're not alone anymore."
The words stuck in Weiss' head as she saw Ruby round the corner and return to the party, continuing even after the brunette was out of sight. After a few minutes of thought, Weiss turned back towards her intended destination and continued along her way. She knew that there was quite a bit to think about when she got back that night.
Ruby woke up the next morning feeling a little more exhausted than normal, the nights endeavors draining her of energy. Still it didn't matter, she got up and performed her usual morning routine like nothing was wrong with her. When she finished, she decided that a nice cleaning would do her well, and so she washed herself down, refreshing her body and spirit at once.
Once she was finished, she made sure that the others were up. She suggested that they take time to get cleaned up themselves, citing that they deserved a moment to refresh their own bodies like she did. She wanted everyone to be in high spirits for the journey back, it would make it much more enjoyable that way.
Everyone took their sweet time washing themselves off, with Yang taking the longest amount of time, followed closely by Weiss. After finishing, Ruby checked to see that everyone had their belongings with them, and led them to meet with the King before they left. She wanted to ask if there was any way he could provide them with transport back to the Vale capital of Esgaroth.
Upon arriving at the throne, she noticed that King Port stood at the throne. At the base of the throne stood Lie Ren, and Nora Valkyrie, both of whom had a bag for their possessions with them as well. When Ren and Nora noticed Ruby walk in, they gave her a salute. Ruby walked over to them and shook both of their hands in return.
"Well, I believe it is time that you return to Vale. I trust that you will do you best to ensure Ren and Nora's safety, right?" The King asked.
"I will, your honor," Ruby said, kneeling down before the King to honor him. She stood up afterwards and held her hands behind her back. "If I may ask, would you be willing to provide us with transport back to Esgaroth? The journey back to Vale alone is a long endeavor, and the capital city is on the opposite side of the realm. It would provide a great deal of assistance if we were given transport, and I ask that you honor us with such."
"I have to look into what the schedule looks like for transport between the kingdoms, but if there is anything available then I give you access to it," The King said, writing something down on a parchment and handing it to a nearby servant. He gave the boy instructions and cast him on his way. Before he turned his attention back to the Huntress and her companions, someone walked into the hall and drew his attention away. "I do believe that you are early, though I shouldn't be surprised by this turn of events."
Everyone drew their attention to the man who had walked in moments ago, and the very sight once again struck fear in Weiss' heart. The same man who she saw last night was in front of her again, and this time, she couldn't just run away like she had before.
"You shouldn't be surprised by this Peter, I always show up early to any meeting that I plan for," The man said. He then realized that there were others in the room besides himself and the King, and he turned to address them. He barely showed any shock when he noticed Weiss standing amongst them. "And what are you people doing here at this meeting?"
"I'm here to speak with the King, if you would show patience then we will be finished soon and out of your way," Ruby said.
"Do not speak to me unless I say so you worthless filth," The man said back to Ruby. Yang was ready to knock the guy in the face, but was being held back by Blake and Sun. Weiss on the other hand, was frozen in fear, and Ruby noticed this. "I don't see why there are eight insignificant whelps standing before me."
'Wait, eight? There's nine of us here, unless,' Ruby thought to herself as she realized what was going on. The man was referring to Weiss as the one who isn't 'insignificant,' and Ruby could only see that as bringing trouble.
The man walked forward, pushing everyone out of the way until he was face to face with Weiss. "Do you have any idea what kind of trouble you have caused me by running off with this scum?" Ruby realized right then and there, that this person was the one who tortured Weiss all those years. "You're coming back with me this instant."
The man reached for Weiss, but was stopped when he felt a hand on his arm hold him back. "Do not touch her." The man turned to see Ruby standing there, the one who decided to hold him back.
"What do you think you're doing you cur, I am taking my daughter back with me this instant," The man said.
Ruby fell dead silent, and Weiss started to fear the worst. Before the man who turned out to be Weiss' father could move, he was being openly pushed away from Weiss this time, by Ruby, and eventually by everyone else. "I'll say it again. Do. Not. Touch. Her." Ruby said, emphasizing each word as she said it.
By now, Weiss' father turned to the King for assistance. "Peter, do something to these animals. They do not have the right to-"
Ruby decided to interrupt him before he went on. "I have more right than you think I do."
"And what in god's name gives you that delusional idea?" He asked.
Ruby smirked and looked up at him. "My name, is Ruby Rose, and I'm a member of the Huntsman."
The look on Weiss' father's face grew dead serious. "You would dare stand in my way, Huntress?"
Ruby didn't back down, in fact she became even bolder at the challenge. "That's exactly what I'm doing right now. If you attempt to take Weiss with you, then I will have no choice but to force you away from her. You have hurt her enough already and I won't let you do anything else."
"None of us will," Pyrrha said next.
"I dare you to try and take us," Yang challenged. Soon everyone was standing in between Weiss and her father. The expression on her face changed from fear to elation, she felt as though she could really trust them all after this.
"Don't try to stop me," Weiss' father said as he looked at pulling a weapon out from the cane that he carried with him.
Before he went any further, the King spoke up. "If you attempt to lay your hands on them Geist, I will cease all trade with you and the Schnee Mining Company. I ask that you back down now before it get's drastic."
Shocked, Geist turned towards the King. "You can't be serious, you would cease all trade over one group of insignificant filth, and a lowly Huntress?"
"I would, and I can assure you that Ozpin and Glynda would do the same as well. So I ask this again, please stand down," King Port said.
Fuming, Weiss' father lowered his hands and admitted defeat. "Do not think this is over, Weiss. You won't be rid of me that easily, and I can assure you that the next time this happens, no one can stop me." He then turned and walked out of the hall, leaving them all alone.
Ruby turned back towards the King, who was speaking with the servant he sent out earlier. "I admire your boldness Ruby, not many have dared to challenge Geist Schnee and lived afterwards. In any case, I just received word that there is in fact a transport to Esgaroth that is departing within the hour. I will ensure that it does not leave without you. Have a safe journey, and good luck," The King said.
Everyone bowed down to him and left after they thanked him. They had a lot of things to talk about during that train ride.
Once they reached the platform with the train, everyone was about to get onto it. Before they could though, Weiss decided to speak up. "So, about what happened earlier," She started off with. "I wanted to thank all of you, for standing up for me. I know that you guys must have a lot of questions to ask me, but right now I just want to say thank you, for everything."
Ruby walked over and pulled her into a hug. "You don't need to say anything right now. Do so when you're ready to, we'll be here waiting." Ruby looked at Weiss and saw her smile. "Come on, let's get back to Vale." Ruby led everyone onto the train, and they had a few minutes to settle in before the train sped away.
AN: So I've been having a lot to handle lately, mostly with school work. It's why this chapter is later than it should be, and for that I apologize. I've been trying to get myself to work on this more and more, but often times it comes down to me just having to force myself to writing it because I don't have much time left. In any case I hope to fix that in the next few chapters.
Anyway, shoutout to Prinplup64 for being the only person to even guess at who the man was from the last chapter. You're an awesome person and I really appreciate the comments that you've said to me on all of my stuff. So thanks for that.
Anyway, thanks for reading, and I hope you enjoyed this chapter.