AN: It's just this and one more chapter so I'd like to thank everyone who followed, favorite, and reviewed. In regards to characters, I'd like to say that while Jaune may not be my favorite character, I don't mean his part in this chapter to be mean. I just like pointing out obvious things and I think he fits the character I portray him as pretty well. With Neptune, well...him I just don't like :P. Please enjoy and let me know what you think!
Ruby, Yang and Blake, the potential savers of Arrendelle had continued to trek up the mountain through the remainder of the night. After their near escape from the beowolves, they had not wanted to risk anything else and figured that mobility would be their greatest chance.
As morning dawned over the mountain, Ruby was taken aback how pretty the light made the landscape seem. The pristine snow made everything seem so clean and perfect. It was like walking into an alternate, painted world where everything was totally serene.
"This is amazing!" she shouted, running through the trees as they dangled frozen droplets like intentional decorations. "It's like a winter wonderland." Ruby felt like a child on the first day of snow and couldn't resist the pinch of nice on an otherwise terrible day.
"It is rather picturesque." Yang agreed while doing her best to avoid the dangling ice Ruby seemed to love. From the looks of t, Blake was enjoying the scene even less than her as she did her best to keep the things out of her antlers.
"Oh I know, I know." A strange voice spoke, seeming to come from every direction simultaneously.
"Who the hell is that?" Yang asked aloud as she scanned her surroundings. The voice had seemed well meaning, but it had an annoying tone to it that made Yang want to punch it. After the night she had experienced, punching something was just what she needed too.
"The snow and the way it forms on things to make the world look so nice and untouched" the voice continued "it's really pretty huh?"
They had grouped up now and were slowly moving backwards, still trying to locate the source of the voice. As they moved back, Ruby bumped into something and jumped, swinging her arm around. She felt it impact into something heavy and moved her hands to gasp. Her movement was stopped when something landed in her hands. Looking at it, Ruby realized it was the head of snowman.
"Hi." the head spoke as Ruby examined it.
"Cooool." was all Ruby could get out as she wondered about the talking snowman.
"Uhh, Ruby." Yang poked her "Why don't you go ahead and put the head back on the uh, body?"
"I would appreciate the reunion." the head muttered, growing uncomfortable with Ruby's stares. The princess had begun to spin it around as if trying to find a hidden trick to the things speech.
Apologizing, Ruby reattached the head and watched as the body went about adjusting it.
"Thanks." the now whole snowman said as he reached out his stick hand "I'm Jaune and I like things I can't have while ignoring what's right in front of me."
"Oh, come one! I'm a snowman?"
"Yup."
"Why can't I be something cool for once?"
"Because you need to be like the character, idiot. That's why I'm a queen and you're a bumbling snowman."
"Well I think being a snowman is a very fitting and…unique."
"Thanks, I guess."
"Well it's nice to meet you Jaune but we need to keep moving." Yang told him, grabbing Ruby as she began to walk away from him. "We've got a summer to save and all."
Faster than she would have thought possible, the snowman was in front them once again. "Summer? I love summer!" He seemed to grow more excited as he listed features of the season. "Warm sun, beaches, tropical drinks, bikinis...it's all so wonderful."
"Wow, you weren't kidding about that whole can't have thing huh?" Yang asked, flabbergasted at this seemingly suicidal snowman.
Jaune only turned his head in confusion "What do you mean?"
"Well, you'll d...!" Yang started but received an elbow to the gut. Apparently Jaune wasn't the only one who liked to indulge delusions.
"Don't you dare!" Ruby glared at her but then turned to Jaune "Weiss built you, didn't she?" Her look turned serious as she came to the realization that Jaune resembled the snowman they had made together as children. The whole enchanted snowman thing was also a minor hint.
"Yup!" was Jaune's answer.
Good, that meant that Weiss really was safe up here. "She forgot something though." Ruby smiled and reached into her bag, pulling out a carrot. Without any warning she shoved it into Jaune's face.
"OOOF" came out of him as he looked dizzy "Jeez you could've lobotomized me or something, what was that any...way..." he paused and played with the carrot sticking out of his face "Ah, a nose! I've always wanted a nose so I can smell things that I will never have and ignore the nice flowers that I can."
"Ok, I feel like there is a theme here I'm not getting."
"That's because there is you idiot."
"Does anyone want to help me with it?"
"NO!" came collectively
After settling the matter of Jaune's nose, the group that had grown to four resumed their journey. With Jaune's help, they were able to make even better time, as he had traveled down from the castle that he informed Ruby her sister was living in. With Jaune at their side, they made it there fairly quickly and with surprisingly minimal accidents or snowman dismemberment. And now the four were standing in front of the most beautiful castle Ruby had ever seen.
It had the appearance of crystal and the stairs leading up to the entrance looked as if they would more likely cause you to slip off then actually ascend them. Even without her powers, Ruby would have guessed that Weiss had designed the abode. Its cold beauty reflected its creator perfectly in Ruby's mind.
"Well here goes nothing." Ruby announced as she took that first step. The purchase was surprisingly solid and she continued to make her way up. It was then that she noticed the others following. "Um, I think I should go alone. Weiss isn't exactly a people person in the best of circumstances and I don't picture you guys getting along."
"What if she goes all ice crazy again and you get hurt?" Yang asked, concerned. Jaune was nodding beside her, more out of a desire to join Ruby than actual concern for her safety.
"Look, just give me five minutes." they looked at her skeptically but didn't disagree "If I'm not back by then, come inside."
"Fine, but your time starts now." Yang stated, taking a seat and counting aloud.
Feeling rushed now, Ruby quickly made her way the rest of the way up the stairs and towards her sister. Soon, everything would be fixed and go back to normal. She was sure of it.
"Her horse came back yesterday Prince Neptune, we have to send a search party."
"All is lost if she has failed."
"That witch means to kill us all."
"What do we do Neptune?"
The voices bombarded the Prince as he sat in the meeting room. He had gathered the people of influence and members of the court to discuss what he had planned. Unfortunately, they had not allowed him to get that far. He let out a not too subtle cough to gain their attention and rose to speak once he had it.
"I will gather a party and we will go to retrieve the Queen." Neptune announced to the group "I'm sure that she has nothing to do with any misfortune that may have come upon Ruby and that all of our problems will be solved if we only seek her out."
"Talk to that witch?" the Duke of Weasleton spoke up "She tries to murder the kingdom and you want to chat?"
Getting angry and frustrated at the Duke, Neptune turned to him "She is still the Queen of this kingdom and if you continue to speak so of her I will have you hanged for treason. Is that understood?"
The Duke merely gulped and nodded before apologizing "Your loyalty is admirable; let me volunteer my men to assist you then. Safety in numbers and all that, yes?"
Finding no reason to deny the favor, Neptune agreed. He didn't want to take any chances during their journey. Any delays could be catastrophic. "We leave at once then." he announced and moved to leave. He needed to figure out what was happening, his future depended on it.
"See, evil."
"Planning for one's future is not evil."
"When the fact is brought up in the story it is."
"Just pay attention and you'll see."
"Ruby?" the voice caught her off guard as she examined an ice vase serving as decoration - vase which she promptly dropped.
"It was like that when I got here." Ruby spoke quickly. One of Weiss' scoldings would not make this go any easier. "Hi Weiss..."
"What are doing here?" Weiss asked, descending the steps and giving Ruby a chance to see her sister. Gone was the ball gown she had been wearing. Instead she wore a shimmering blue and white dress, obviously made with her powers. What wasn't she capable of now? Ruby wondered.
"You look great!" she complimented, hoping to hold off on the whole eternal winter thing until she knew how Weiss was doing. It wasn't a lie either. Weiss really did look better than ever. Her dress suited her more than any Ruby had ever seen her in and the constant stress seemed to be gone from her face. She seemed...happy. Somehow that made Ruby sad.
"Thank you, Ruby." Weiss had moved in front of her now "But why are you here? I thought you would be enjoying the open gates and sun without me." Weiss drew out the last part, did she really think that Ruby would just let go like that? That she would live the rest of her life without thinking of Weiss?
"Funny, you should mention the sun..." Ruby brought up as she played her fingers.
"Why," Weiss asked "what aren't you telling me?" Suspicion and anger entered her voice as the question came out.
"Umm, you wouldn't of happened to have caused some sort of eternal winter to punish the citizens of Arrendelle and start your slow but methodical takeover of the entire world...would you?"
Weiss looked shocked and offended "Of course not, you dolt! Why would you even ask such a thing?" She grew more and more worried. The answer was obvious but she still felt the need to ask.
"It's just a theory that was floating around...you know on behalf of the whole eternal winter thing." Ruby muttered, clearly uncomfortable with the words.
"Oh no..." Weiss turned and began to walk back up the stairs "I did this. I thought I could be free. I thought I could be happy."
"You can be Weiss." Ruby jumped by here "We can walk down this mountain together and you can reverse the cold. Everything will go back to normal and we'll be happy together."
"No I can't, I don't know how." Weiss shook off Ruby's grip "Now you need to leave before I hurt you. My powers...their dangerous. It seems to be especially true when you're around." The reality of what she may have done was crushing Weiss' soul as she felt her powers coming to the fore.
"It will be okay, Weiss. You don't have to protect me anymore." Ruby pleaded, desperate to reach her sister. "For the first time in forever, I finally understand. I know what's been driving you to loneliness but you don't have to be that way anymore. We can walk down this mountain together. You don't have to live in fear. For the first time in a long time, I will be right here...for you Weiss"
"Please stop." Weiss begged, close to tears and Ruby felt the temperature begin to plummet. Her breathing was now visible as she fought the urge to shiver. "I can't control this curse Ruby!" she began to yell as a wind formed in the hall and continued to grow stronger. Ruby realized that she was beginning to lose control again and tried to intervene before it was too late.
"No, Weiss!" Ruby shouted, refusing to back down "I wasn't there to help you with this for your entire life and I refuse to abandon you now." She had to struggle to move towards Weiss as an icy vortex formed around her sister.
"Ruby, please you'll only make it worse!" Weiss pleaded "You're not safe around me, don't you understand?"
Undeterred, Ruby pressed on against the biting cold. "We can face this thing together, Weiss. We're partners in this whether you admit it or not! You can fix this! I know you can!"
"I SAID I CAN'T!" Weiss screamed as she lashed out, sending a spray of ice in all directions. The storm abated after this but Ruby was now on the ground. Weiss took in a breath in shock at what she had done. "Oh no..."
Ruby began to come to and Weiss sighed in relief. She hadn't killed her sister. This time...
"Ruby!" Yang screamed, running into the room "Are you okay?"
"Who are..." Weiss began "never mind, it doesn't matter. Take Ruby and leave. No one is safe here..." She had to fight the tears from falling and looked at Yang.
"No, we can't leave without you Weiss!" Ruby begged as Yang helped her up
"You don't have a choice Ruby." Weiss stated as she waved her hand and snow began to come together between them. A snowman, a much bigger and much scarier one than Jaune came to be. "Escort them out please."
Before Yang could protest, they were all in the giant hands of the snowman and they were flying out the door and down the stairs. After a day and a half of travel, there they sat in front of their goal as failures. Ruby could barely muster the effort to get up as this all sank in.
"When I get back in there, I am going to beat her icy ass!" Yang exclaimed as she dusted the snow off of herself. She made to go back up the stairs when she felt a tug at her sleeve. Looking down, she saw the still sitting Ruby pinching the cloth of her elbow.
"Let's go." Ruby whispered "She doesn't want our help...she never has." Standing, Ruby wiped her face with her sleeve and started to walk away.
"But the what about stopping this winter?" Yang asked after her as she, Jaune and Blake followed.
"We have blankets." Ruby sniffed "I don't know, we'll think of something..."
Yang was about to argue more when Ruby collapsed. She moved quickly and managed to catch her just before she hit the ground. "What's wrong? Ruby? Talk to me."
"S-s-sorry." Ruby gave a weak smile "I'm just so cold all of a sudden."
Yang was quiet for a moment as she looked at Ruby. She didn't just feel cold, she looked it too. Her skin was beginning to grow white, not pale, snow white and the red tips of her hair began to change as well. What the hell...? And then it hit her.
"That ice bitch did this to you Ruby!" she yelled, growing angrier at Weiss by the moment.
"Sh-she didn't mean to if she did." Ruby stood up at last "I'm feeling better anyway. Let's go."
"But Ruby, she can fix you." Yang pleaded, not wanting Ruby to grow worse.
"She can't Yang." Ruby said, clearly struggling to breath "She said so herself. Now let's go, we can get help somewhere else."
An idea sparked in Yang's mind at Ruby's words and a faint hope began to form in her. "I know where we need to go." She announced to Ruby's back "Follow me."
Not knowing what else to do, Ruby followed. At least she could delay delivering the bad news to everyone.
"Relax, just calm down." Weiss spoke to herself as she had been doing for the past several hours "Conceal, don't feel." The storm continued though, despite her best efforts to suppress, she lost her temper at its refusal to stop. "Why won't this stupid curse just listen? It's already ruined my life, does it have to ruin everyone else's as well?" Weiss lashed out at her creations, shattering several ice sculptures that she had been rather proud of. Her inability to control her powers was getting to her more and more.
"Alone." she muttered, calming down as a different emotion began to overtake the anger "Always alone..." Weiss had come to realize that she would never be able to be close to anyone, not even Ruby, for fear of their safety. She might need to move further too, Ruby was tenacious and would likely try again after she got over what Weiss had said.
Turning to walk towards the balcony, the expansive view helping to relax her, Weiss heard noises from outside. Men were screaming and sounds of her latest creation joined them. They've come to kill me she thought, growing fearful. Do I fight them?
Weiss knew that she would win if she decided to do that, but wasn't the whole point of all this to avoid hurting others? She couldn't just stand still and die though, could she? Maybe that would make the weather go back to normal. Maybe her death would fix everything. At odds with herself, Weiss merely looked at the entrance in fear as the noises continued. It was then that she saw the two men make it through. Was it only them? No, fighting was still occurring outside which meant they must have run ahead.
"Go away!" Weiss shouted down, feeling childish but at a loss for what else she could do. The men ignored her plea and began to run up the stairs and towards their prey. Weiss continued to retreat, moving towards the balcony and unsure of what to do.
She entered the space and had nowhere else to run. Weiss could merely stare as they both raised crossbows and took aim. The bolts were in the air.
Weiss raised her hands instinctually to block the projectiles, not dumb enough to expect her arms to save her. Nothing happened.
Weiss slowly opened her eyes, unsure of what to expect. A wall of ice was slowly revealed to her and her eyes widened fully as she saw the tips of the bolts protruding from the ice mere inches from her face. Apparently she wasn't ready to die yet.
Her resolve renewed, Weiss stepped from behind the wall and looked at her attackers. She may not kill them, but she could damn well scare the hell out of them. They wouldn't come after her again after that.
"You think you can kill me?" she asked, adopting her most commanding voice "I am the Queen of this kingdom and have more power in my little finger than you idiots have in your whole body."
The two had reloaded their weapons and were advancing towards her. Ok, plan failed. They fired again and Weiss ducked this time, raising her arms from the ground and creating a wall of ice between her and the men. The wall slowly pushed them back towards a spike Weiss produced behind them.
What am I doing she thought? Defending yourself from these cretins! But I can't kill them, it will make me what they think and then...You don't have a choice, it's them or you! She battled internally as the wall brought them closer to death. She would need to decide. Quickly.
"Weiss!" a voice cut into her thoughts and she turned in its direction.
Neptune? she thought, trying to figure out why the prince had come here. Distracted by the newcomer, Weiss didn't see one of her would be assassins raising his crossbow.
Neptune ran towards the man and Weiss turned to see why. Shocked, she was too slow to stop him from pulling the trigger as Neptune grabbed his arm and pulled up. Instead of flying towards Weiss, the bolt went up and impacted on the ice chandelier hanging in the center of the room.
The great ice creation began to fall and Weiss did her best to run out of its area of impact. Making it just barely, Weiss slipped as she jumped the remaining distance. Her hit the floor with a solid thunk and all was darkness.
"Let me guess?" Weiss asked, standing and stretching her sleeping legs "Break time?"
Yang looked confused as she answered "What makes you think that, princess?"
"Oh please the cliff hanger, the ambiguity of it all? This has one of your so called "breaks" written all over it."
"You have set quite the trend." Ren added.
"Please don't do another break Yang." Ruby begged from her bed "You can't leave us hanging like that."
"Sorry sis, but I've got to go to the little huntress's room." Yang told her while thinking that she also had an ending to come up with.
"Ugh." came the collective noise from her avid audience as she stood up.
"Don't worry guys," she said, pausing for effect "you'll be glad you stuck around."
AN: Yang is right, I think you'll be glad too. Until next time then.