Cassian was having a nightmare.

The dream had started out happy enough. He had been fishing by the seaside (A hobby of his that he had very little time to indulge in, due to the time-consuming nature of his job and his bodyguard duties) and eating a Jupiter bar (The hated rival of the After Schnee. Cassian couldn't stand the overwhelmingly cool minty taste in each bite. Winter seemed to like them though.)

While Cassian was enjoying his little break, a shadow crossed his face. Suddenly, a mysterious force begun to crush Cassian into the ground. As Cassian opened his mouth to shout, something covered his face and mouth.

Cassian tried to struggle, but the force refused to budge. At the same time, he felt his air supply dropping lower and lower and lower-

"!?" Cassian's eyes shot open as he realised his mouth and nose were actually covered and that there was something preventing him from moving. The mysterious object had wrapped itself tightly around Cassian's body, immobilising both his legs and left arm but leaving his right free. Cassian immediately begun grasping for the weapon that he normally left lying against his bedside table.

Nothing. The weapon was gone, no doubt removed by the mysterious thing currently constricting him

Cassian was about to use his free hand to strike the mysterious object when he heard a noise.

"Mmm..snuggleberries."

Not what he expected a potential assassin to say. It took a moment for Cassian to recognise the voice as being Winter's.

"...you're kidding." Cassian murmured, smelling the familiar scent of Winter's minty shampoo. With his free hand, he gently brushed the hair off his face, revealing the sleeping face of his lover on his chest.

"...geez." Cassian let out a sigh, trying not to think about how close he was to striking her. Not that it would do any real damage. Winter had, after all, completed the Atlas Military training. She was more than capable of handling herself. "Silly girl." Cassian rubbed her head.

"Mmmm…" Winter snuggled closer, her arms growing tighter around Cassian's body. She must have snuck into Cassian's bed when he was asleep. Cassian found it both cute and worrying that she had been able to do so without him noticing.

"Gotta work on that.." With his free hand, Cassian reached over and grabbed his scroll from the bedside table. The time display read 5:24 AM.

"Guess I'd better get going." Cassian muttered, not really wanting to leave Winter's warm embrace. He normally woke up at 6:30 to do his morning training, but today he needed to head over to Beacon to check on the preparations for Winter's speech at 10. That meant he needed to be at Beacon by 8:45 at the latest. "Sorry love."

Cassian gave Winter a quick peck, before carefully escaping Winter's embrace without waking her up. After quickly changing into a pair of training shorts and a t-shirt, and packing his bodyguard uniform (minus the aesthetic armor) in his bag, Cassian went about preparing Winter's clothes for the day, as well as writing her a quick note explaining where he went.

Satisfied, Cassian stepped out of the room and quietly shut the door. Heading for the elevator banks, Cassian unlocked his scroll and dialed Fred's number. Holding the scroll to his ear, Cassian tapped the button for the roof.

"Morning Fred."

"Morning Colonel." Fred always referred to Cassian as Colonel. Whenever Cassian told him to refer to him by his first name, Fred always refused, saying You earned the title Colonel. Hence, it's only right that I use it.

"Do you know who's in charge of escorting Ms. Schnee to Beacon?"

"General Ironwood said that he'd send an escort." Fred, having guessed Cassian's intention, added. "So go ahead and do what you have to do."

"Thanks Fred." Cassian hung up the phone and stepped out of the elevator. He had checked the net late last night and had noticed no less than twelve different photos of Winter's band-aid, all with similar captions blaming the 'wound' on Cassian. It had been decided last night that Cassian should avoid any sort of contact with Winter that could be misinterpreted.

Not that it made Cassian feel any better. While he understood the necessity of hiding their relationship, he didn't like the attention Winter was getting from the press. While most of the tabloids were positive (Cassian didn't think it was the most appropriate word to use to describe the articles, but it was the best he could think of), there were a few that outright condemned Winter for shaming her family.

Cassian would have broken up with Winter long ago and nursed his broken heart if it meant that she could walk around without all the rumors. The only reason he hadn't was because the emotional damage that such a breakup would do to Winter would be both irreversible and damning.

"Or at least, that's what I keep telling myself." Cassian muttered darkly, standing at the edge of the Vale Season' roof. Far below, Cassian could see the paparazzi already lining up outside the hotel, hoping to catch a glimpse of Winter and him. The sight sent a bolt of anger through Cassian. "This is my fault."

Cassian allowed himself a few more seconds of self-loathing, before snapping himself out of it and scanning the perimeter. About fifteen kilometers to the east were the towers of Beacon Academy, situated at the top of a very tall cliff.

"Huh." Cassian grinned, eyeing the cliff. "That looks like a good workout."

Like all Atlas Military Academy students, Cassian had completed a rock-climbing course. At the beginning, Cassian had been terrified of heights. By the end, he was climbing unassisted up Mt. Etna for fun.

Taking a running start, Cassian threw himself off the roof of the hotel. He free-fell for about fifteen meters, before landing with a roll on the next rooftop, his aura protecting his joints from any serious injury.

Without pause, Cassian begun to free-run across the rooftops, slowly making his way towards the Academy.

"Mmmmm." Weiss yawned and stretched her arms. She had slept well last night. Reaching for her scroll, Weiss checked the time.

8:24.

"Ugh, I slept in." Weiss grumbled. Despite feeling rested, Weiss did not like sleeping past 7:30. She always felt that she was wasting time sleeping when she could be doing something productive.

"Weiss, you're awake!" Ruby's head poked down from her bed. "Did you see the announcement!?"

"No Ruby I didn't, because I just woke up." Weiss really wasn't a morning person. Ruby however, was completely unaffected by Weiss' insulting tone. She had gotten used to it really.

"Oh, well you better see it quick! I'll see you at breakfast!" A cascade of rose petals floated onto the floor as Ruby rushed out to the cafeteria.

"Ruby-" Weiss sighed. Now she'd have to clean those up as well. "Now, let's see what this announcement is about." Grabbing her scroll, Weiss navigated to Beacon's announcement board. "Hmm? Ten o'clock presentation in the courtyard? By who?"

Weiss tapped on the announcement, summoning a small description box. "Join us in the courtyard to listen to speeches by our own Headmaster Ozpin, General Ironwood and...Winter Schnee?" Weiss' eyes widened.

Her sister was coming here? To Beacon?

Weiss continued to read the announcement, but could find nothing regarding exactly what the presentation was about. The only things the announcement said was that the event was open to the public, seats were on a first-come-first-serve basis and that if students wished to attend they had to RSVP via their scrolls as soon as possible.

Weiss' finger hovered over the 'attend' option. A few minutes later, she still hadn't moved.

"Why am I hesitating?" Weiss asked herself. "It's just a presentation. It's not like I have to talk to her or anything. Heck, I'll doubt she'll even know I'm there." Feeling a little better, Weiss selected 'attend'.

Almost immediately, she wished she had spent more time thinking about it.

"Ah, whatever!" Weiss threw her phone onto her bed and began getting dressed for the day. "It's just a presentation!"

"This looked a lot easier from afar." Cassian grunted to himself. About twenty meters above him lay the Beacon gardens. About four hundred meters beneath him lay solid concrete. "Then again, I guess I forgot about the overhang."

The rocky outcrop meant that Cassian would have to climb the last twenty meters or so solely with his arms.

"Oum this is gonna be hard." Cassian took a deep breath, steeling himself, before letting his feet dangle. "Mother Grimm!" Cassian cursed as he felt the nothingness beneath his feet. "Come on, it's just like those monkey bars you used to play on as a kid. Just one arm after another."

Cassian looked at the rocky surface above his head. There were literally no hand holds. Instead, circular rock fragments stuck out of the cliff's underbelly. This meant that Cassian would be relying not on hand strength, but finger strength.

Cassian took one more look down. The ground was very, very far away. He wasn't sure if his aura would protect him from a fall this high. The highest fall Cassian had did was one hundred fifty meters, and that had nearly broken his aura-enhanced bones. A fall from nearly three-times that height would kill him.

"Crap." Cassian swore one more time, before swinging over and grabbing the first 'handhold'. He felt his fingers slide against the smooth rock, before finally finding purchase.

"Crapity-crapity-crapity crap."

"Cassian?" Winter yawned and stretched, her eyes searching for her lover. "Where arrrre you?"

Winter hopped out of bed, noting the absence of Cassian's weapon and uniform. Looking around, she noticed the note lying on the bedside table. Walking over, Winter grabbed the note and read it.

Dear Winter,

Sorry I had to leave so early, but there's some stuff I need to do before the speech at 10-

Winter groaned. She had forgotten about the speech she was meant to give at Beacon.

-which I'm sure you've already forgotten about even though I mentioned it to you yesterday. Silly girl.

Winter smiled, imagining Cassian's exasperated face (which she found cute) as he wrote the note. Plus, she loved it when he called her 'silly girl'.

I've left your clothes in my room, along with a tablet with your speech on it. Remember to bring your weapon as well! The General may want you to showcase your skills-

Winter glanced at her weapon, lying uncoiled on the chair. She grinned. It had been a while since she'd last gotten to use it.

-or you may want to spar with some Beacon students in your free time afterwards. Yes, I said free time. This is the only event you have today. Anyway, I'll see you at Beacon. The General is sending his own security detail to escort you today, so I'm not needed until later.

Love,

Cassian

Winter scrunched up the letter, making a mental note to destroy it later. No need for some hotel cleaner to sell it to the press and make things even more difficult. The thought of the press made Winter recall yesterday's conversation, specifically Cassian's reaction.

Winter had seen Cassian's face when they discussed the way they needed to act in public. The guilt and self-loathing had been obvious, no matter how much Cassian tried to hide it. It was one of the reasons why Winter had snuck into his bed in the first place. To remind him that she loved him regardless of how she acted in public.

"I hate them." Winter whispered, gripping her weapon's hilt. "To make him feel this way, even though it isn't his fault...I hate them all."

Another, much older memory, crossed Winter's mind as she sat there. Winter remembered the conversation she had had with her father, when he discovered that she was dating Cassian.

"Break up with him." Winter's father's tone was soft, but the anger was there. "Now."

"I refuse." Winter didn't know how her father had found out about their relationship within a week of them starting it. Nor did it surprise her.

Reim Schnee was said to know even the darkest of government secrets. It would have surprised her if he wasn't aware of his own daughter's transgressions.

"That wasn't a request Winter."

"I am aware."

"..." The Schnee patriarch suddenly smashed his fist on the table. Such an action would have caused any regular person to flinch, as it indicated that Reim's full wrath was focused on you.

Winter didn't flinch, continuing to stare directly into her father's eyes.

"I can dismiss him in an instant." Reim threatened.

"And I can hire him back." Winter shot back. "I'm no longer a child father."

"I'll strip you of your inheritance. A Schnee heiress cannot love a commoner!"

"Do as you will." Winter's look of frigid indifference only served to infuriate her father further. "I only wish for him, nothing more."

"I will have him killed then!" This got Winter's attention. Her indifference disappeared, replaced with anger.

"If Cassian dies and I find that you were responsible." Winter's gaze was so terrifying that even Reim had to resist the urge to flinch. "I will wring the life out of you myself."

"You would hurt your father!?" Reim roared.

"Anyone who kills Cassian is no father of mine." Winter's eyes flashed, promising a brutal death to whoever opposed her. "Only an object of my hatred."

Silence filled the room as the two Schnee's waited for the other to react. After a moment, Reim spun around so that he was no longer facing his daughter.

"...You really are a Schnee." Winter curtsied, her face returning to its usual indifferent look. "Very well, you may continue your relationship with your..servant."

"Thank you father-"

"However, there are a few conditions. First, you will no longer be heiress to the Schnee Fortune. This is your punishment for defying my orders."

"I have no complaints."

"Second, no one must know about your relationship. If I hear even a whisper, I will have him killed."

"And I will kill you in return." Reim snorted.

"You truly are a Schnee. What a pity you fell for him, you would have made a good heiress. You're are dismissed Winter. Remember what you lost for this."

"I have no regrets father." Winter gave one last curtsey, before spinning on her heels and walking out the door.

"And I still don't." Winter whispered. After coming to a tentative agreement with her father, Winter had taken control of the the Schnee's Pale Horse military unit. Their secret relationship had continued along just fine, with the two of them acting distant in front of the cameras but as lovers in private.

And then one day, while the two of them were enjoying one of their few days off, someone snapped a picture from afar and posted it on their blog. It had been a harmless thing, something done by a random passerby who just so happened to be there at the right (or wrong) time. Within two hours however, it was all over the internet.

Within eight hours, both Winter and Cassian had been summoned to Reim Schnee's office.

That meeting had gone very differently.

"What did I say about keeping it a secret!" Reim roared. Both Cassian and Winter stood in front of his desk. Both of them were looking straight, their gaze fixed on the window directly behind Reim. "Hm!? Answer me!"

"We didn't expect to be photographed by an amateu-" Winter begun, only to be cut off by Reim smashing his palm onto his desk.

"Excuses! I don't care how it happened!" Reim pointed his finger at Winter. "You promised me that it would remain secret! That was our deal!" Reim suddenly stood up, his hand reaching under his desk. "And now I'll do well on my promise."

Reim's desk suddenly soared forward. Winter and Cassian immediately launched themselves into the air, dodging the table. The two of them, upon landing, simultaneously drew their respective weapons.

"Father!?"

"Sir Schnee!?"

"I told you didn't I!?" Reim spat. In his hand was his weapon, the long-spear Echtekalt. The ornate spear was nearly two meters long, with snowflakes engraved on its hilt and blade. The dust compartment, a staple in all Schnee Family weapons, was located in its blade. "I would kill Cassian if this happened."

"Then I will make well on my promise as well." Winter's weapon unfurled in her hand. "And kill you in exchange."

"..." Cassian didn't speak, simply leveling his blade at his lover's father.

Thinking back, that had been the most terrifying moment of Winter's life. Both her and Cassian, highly trained Hunters considered to be the top in their class, had nearly died in the fight with the Schnee Patriarch.

It had also been the day when Winter realised just why she had fallen so madly in love with Cassian in the first place. What Cassian did on that day had even affected her father, so much that he had put down his weapon, before throwing them out of the study without another word.

"Ohhh." Winter felt her cheeks go red as she remembered what they had did later in the day. Near death experiences really did wonders for bedroom antics. "I love you so much Cassian!" Winter squealed to no one in particular. She was a bit weird when she was alone.

"H-h-ha-choo!" Cassian sneezed, nearly plummeting to his death in the process. "CRAP CRAP CRAP!"

Through some miracle, Cassian managed not to fall to his untimely demise.

"Damn allergies." Cassian sniffed, reaching for the next handhold. About ten meters away was the edge of the cliff. "Nearly killed me."

Weiss let out a sigh of relief. After an eventful breakfast (where Yang had basically pestered Weiss about how jaw-droppingly attractive her older sister was and how much she was looking forward to the presentation, which annoyed Weiss to no end.), Weiss had decided to take a walk through the Beacon grounds.

As Weiss walked through the manicured plants and towards the Beacon cliffs, she heard the sound of singing. As an avid singer herself, Weiss recognised good singing when she heard it.

"She's pretty good." Weiss muttered, already beginning to walk towards the source of the melody. Wandering through numerous small paths in the gardens, Weiss eventually emerged in a small clearing right by a rocky outcrop.

Seated on the ground, her back to Weiss, was a small girl with bunny ears. Weiss could hear her clear voice reverberating through the grassy clearing.

Weiss recognised the girl as the same super quiet and shy girl that Jaune had saved from Cardin Winchester all that time ago. It was also the same girl that had sent a Grimm flying with a single kick during the Breach of Vale.

"Was her name Velma?" Weiss mumbled to herself, trying to remember the name of the girl with many talents. She didn't feel comfortable calling out to the girl unless she was 100% what her name was. "No, that doesn't sound right."

"Little carrot, grow big and strong~" The girl sang, completely oblivious to Weiss' existence. With a start, Weiss realised that there were different fruits and vegetables growing in the garden. "Little orange carrot, grow big so Velvet can eat you~"

"..." Weiss had heard that singing to plants was meant to help them grow, but she wasn't sure if that applied if one sang songs of the plant's ultimate demise. "Why does Beacon have so many weirdos?" Weiss asked herself sadly, a certain blonde teammate and a certain hammer wielder immediately coming to mind.

Weiss couldn't help but fear for the future of Remnant, with such individuals aiming to eventually become the protectors of the world and all.

Velvet Scarlatina loved her secret spot. She had discovered it in her first year in Beacon while running away from some bullies. Due to the many winding paths, very few people knew of the spot. Hence, Velvet had, through the years, turned it into her own personal garden.

All of Velvet's favorite fruits and vegetables grew in this little clearing, each one meticulously taken care of by the bunny Faunus.

"Hello Mr. Radish~" Velvet continued to sing, switching her attention from her carrots (her favorite veggie) to her radishes (her second favorite veggie). "How do you do? I think I will soon eat you~!"

Suddenly, a blur flew over the cliffside in front of her, before landing right on top of Mr. Radish. A horrific crunch echoed through the clearing as Mr. Radish died.

"Ugh." The blur, revealed to be an attractive gray-haired man. Velvet first thought he was much older then her because of his hair, but she quickly dispelled that theory when she saw his young-looking face. He was probably just two years older than she was. "That was bloody terrifying!"

Velvet's eyes moved from the mysterious man to Mr. Radish, who now lay crushed under the man's butt. Her eyes filled with tears at the early demise of her best-friend/potential lunch.

"Huh?" The man seemed to finally realise he had company. Looking at Velvet, the man tentatively raised his hand in greeting. "Oh...uh, hi?"

At this point, Velvet begun crying.

"Eh!?" Cassian was surprised when the little girl began to sob. His mind raced as he tried to figure out what he had done. "W-wait, please don't cry!"

"Waaah! Mr. Radish~!" Cassian blinked, before looking down at where he was seating.

"Oh." Cassian realised that he was sitting it what appeared to be the girl's garden. Reaching underneath his butt, Cassian felt what appeared to be a crushed radish. "Ah."

"Mr. Raaaaadish~!" The girl continued to cry.

"Um-um." Cassian tried to think of some suitable condolences to say to the girl. He had attended numerous funerals before, but none had been held for a vegetable (though, he had once attended a funeral held in the honor of an old eccentric's video game console.). "Sorry?" Cassian offered weakly.

This only led to the girl crying harder, causing Cassian to panic even more.

"Uh..." Cassian resisted the urge to wave his arms in desperation. Looking at the girl, he realised that in his panic he hadn't noticed the massive rabbit ears on her head (Cassian wondered how the heck he had missed those). Peering more closely, Cassian realised the girl looked familiar. "...Wait, are you Velvet Scarlatina?"

The girl looked up at Cassian, her nose running and tears rolling down her face. "Y-yes." The girl stuttered, wiping her face with her sleeve.

"You're Helaine's cousin right?" Velvet nodded. "You don't remember me?" Velvet shook her head. "Ignis' Christmas Party? The legendary Fruit Ninja?" Velvet's eyes widened, causing Cassian to smile.

"Y-you're Cass?"

"By Oum-" Cassian laughed and ran his hand through his hair. "-it's been ages since someone last called me that-oumph!?" Cassian's eyes widened as Velvet tackled Cassian in a hug. "Woah! Cliff! Cliff!" Cassian felt himself land on the vegetable patch, while his head fell over the cliffside. "Pheeew…that was too close for comfort."

"Cass!" Velvet sniffed, hugging Cassian tighter. "I-It's been-"

"Six years?" Cassian patted the rabbit Faunus on the head. "Seems like you're still the same cry-baby Velvet that used to sob whenever we cut the chicken. Though, I didn't know you ended up at Beacon. Guess I can't call you a crybaby for much longer hmm?"

"Ahem." A third voice called through the clearing, causing both Cassian and Velvet to freeze. Neither of them had noticed the third person. "While I'd hate to-"

Cassian felt the hair on his neck rise up. There were only two people he knew that were capable of such a haughty and cold voice, and he knew that one of them was still probably snoring back at the hotel. Cassian wondered what he had done to make Oum curse him with such a meeting under these circumstances.

"-disturb such a touching reunion." Weiss Schnee finished, glaring at her sister's bodyguard who was currently on the ground with a Faunus hugging him. "I have a few questions for my sister's bodyguard."

Cassian gulped.

Poor Cassian.