Author's Note:

Hey everyone, just wanted to say sorry (not sorry) about the email spam if you have your notifications on. I promise I (probably) won't do that again with this story, so just... enjoy!

*Bzzt*

Weiss looked away from the paper she was currently reading to look at her scroll.

Your sister has woken. She has asked to see you.

Weiss looked at who had sent the message and found it had been sent from the headmaster. She sighed and decided it would be rude not to reply.

I do not wish to see her at the moment, I have more pressing issues to attend to.

She sent the message off and returned to her work. Ruby and Blake had gone back to the dorm an hour ago, and that meant she was the last one awake and still poring over the contract. It was Friday night, so she knew she had the entire next day, but she could at least attempt to work through a few of the situations she'd created. She didn't have much hope, but now that the entire contract had been mapped out, it was much easier to discard theories on how to get out of the stupid thing. If only she wasn't seventeen, if only she was in an accident that prevented her from having children. If only… if only…

Weiss's head snapped back up off the desk as she realized she'd dozed off. It was already close to twelve at night and she'd been up early that morning to do the homework she'd neglected in favor of the contract work she'd been prioritizing.

She looked over at her scroll to find a new message from the headmaster that had come some time after she'd replied to his first message. The time-stamp read half an hour previous.

She'd like to speak to you about that. I feel it would be in your best interest to at least hear what she has to say.

Weiss sighed as she rose to her feet. She stood in front of the desk for a moment, gathering her bearings as she tried to decide whether to just go back to the dorm, or visit her sister in the infirmary first. On one hand, she'd tried to kill Yang, and get her and Ruby separated, but on the other she was still family and she'd been trying to use the only loophole that the contract had even though it didn't necessarily guarantee anything. It was simply the best shot she could find and Weiss understood why she'd tried so desperately to make it work.

Weiss sighed again as she clicked the projector's light function off. She left her work as it was, nobody would disturb it and she decided she'd at least give her sister a single chance to apologize, though she wasn't even sure if she could accept an apology considering Ruby had been wronged as well. But most importantly, it was Yang that needed to make peace with Winter.

Weiss hated the feeling of being in the middle of a fight, but realized it was probably good practice if she was going to continue dating Ruby. Eventually her father would understand that it wasn't some phase and try to do something about it. At least the assassins would be much easier to deal with in comparison to the clouds of tension that now seemed to float along with any talk of her family and Ruby's. She shuddered to think what would happen if her father and Qrow were left in a room together.

Weiss entered the infirmary and found the room that had been mentioned by the headmaster. She sighed as she found her sister under a reading light as she looked down at her scroll smiling weakly.

"Alright, I'm here. What do you want?" Weiss asked, choosing to stand rather than take a seat. She didn't intend to stay long anyways.

"What, no 'hi, how's it going?'" Winter asked sarcastically from her bed as she hissed in pain while she tried to sit up a bit more on the inclined back. Weiss didn't reply and Winter closed her eyes and nodded in acceptance. "It's fine, I get it. I screwed up and I deserve whatever you decide about our relationship going forward. I'd hate me too."

"If you think that's going to solve anything, you're more of an idiot than I thought you were." Weiss huffed and took a seat. Winter was trying, so she'd humor her for the moment. She knew that after this night, she might not see or talk to her sister for a very long time. And she felt it was her duty to at least close the loose ends so they both understood where their relationship stood.

"Heh…" Winter grinned, but didn't laugh. It wasn't a very joyous atmosphere. "Probably more so than that, even…"

Weiss watched Winter for a minute, her scroll buzzed and she glanced at it before she smiled and dropped it beside her so the light was swallowed by the bed.

"Well, I guess I should tell you why I really called you here." Winter spoke and Weiss felt a nervous bead of sweat slide down her forehead as she realized too late that this might have been a trap that she willingly walked into. Winter seemed to notice the suddenly alert movement of Weiss's eyes and the stillness of her body as she listened for any noise from the hallway. "Don't worry, I only asked one of your friends to come by when they were done with an errand. I'm not expecting anyone else tonight."

"Right." Weiss relaxed just slightly. She didn't completely trust her sister at the moment, but she really wanted to.

"I'll start with the contract." Winter sighed tiredly. "There's no out. Don't bother looking."

"What? But-" Weiss was interrupted by Winter's glare.

"Unlike you, I've been looking at that thing for the past year while our father was working on it." Winter's voice grew stronger the longer she talked. "Every time there was a possibility of escape, he'd close it in another addition. When I looked at the bigger picture, it was surprisingly concrete. The only way you could void it is if you left Beacon and returned home. In that case, the activation would be delayed until your twenty first birthday."

"If you're trying to get me to give up, then I think we're done here." Weiss said as she made to get up from the chair.

"Wait!" Winter's hand flew out and then she wheezed as the pain in her body came back. "Don't go… there's something… something else…"

"What is it? I don't have all night." Weiss responded harshly. Whether it was the knowledge that she was fighting an impossible battle had finally hit home, or because she was witnessing her relationship with Winter falling apart after it had been ripped so badly, she couldn't tell which was the greater fuel for her anger.

Winter coughed and calmed down as she lay still. "You're getting picked up on Monday."

"What?" Weiss's legs turned to water and she sunk into the chair in disbelief. "But the ceremony is only scheduled for Wednesday!"

"I know… my guess is it's so you'll get to know the groom." Winter spoke and Weiss noticed a small ounce of distaste in her tone. "But there's one other thing that is your last chance, that the contract doesn't take into account. And the best part is, if you pull it off, you'll be free no matter which kingdom you visit."

Weiss looked at her sister in shock. "W-what is it? How? What do I do?"

Winter smiled as a knock sounded on the door and Winter pressed the button on her bed to open it.

"You get hitched." Yang said simply as she walked in with a thick, ancient-looking leather-bound text book in her hand.