"Okay, everything is in place." Winter informed Weiss as she sat at the vanity in the large church. Her flowing white dress folded neatly beneath her as she sat and applied the simple makeup to her face. She left her scar untouched as she felt it was a part of her she didn't want hidden. No doubt her father would see it differently. "You even have a few extra guests who I'm sure father isn't too pleased to see."
"What do you mean?" Weiss asked quickly.
"They're in the parking lot right now, so security can't do anything. But I'm fairly certain you know them all." Winter passed her scroll over to Weiss who's jaw dropped in shock. Standing and talking in the photo were none other than Ruby's family and a few of her professors.
"I need to get out there." Weiss was stopped by Winter's hand on her shoulder. "Technically you're not supposed to leave, but I'll cover for you. Use the side door."
"Thanks." Weiss exited the room quickly, and was thankful that the halls were still basically empty since they were the first few people there.
Weiss quickly opened the side door and ran out into the paved lot, stopping beside the large truck that she recognized as belonging to Ruby's father.
"Pretty soon, apparently." Qrow was talking to the others who all looked up at the arrival of Weiss.
"Hello Weiss, how are you doing today?" Professor Port asked in his jovial voice as he looked at the heiress.
"So I hear you got a thing for my niece!" Qrow growled before pulling her into a sideways hug.
"Um… hello." Weiss replied quickly as she glanced at the two guards standing at the front of the church. "Listen, I'm not sure how much Ruby's told you, but just go with what happens and don't start a fight, okay?"
She glared at the man with his arm around her for a moment before he backed off and waved his hands in surrender.
"Be on my best behaviour, promise." He spoke steadily, making Weiss hope he wouldn't be too impaired when the action started.
"Ruby already gave us the full briefing." Taiyang replied. "We'll be waiting here for the second half."
"Great." Weiss nodded. "And I didn't expect you two to show up."
Professor Port laughed again at Weiss's statement. "It's not everyday that two of my star students decide to declare their bond to each other. I wouldn't miss it!"
"And as the headmaster of Beacon, it is my job to ensure that no harm shall come to my students, whether their parents withdraw them or not." Professor Ozpin spoke calmly. Weiss noted that this was most likely the first time that she'd seen him without a coffee cup.
"Alright, then if you two would follow me, I'll be able to get you into the church without too much fuss. I know my father has probably alerted security about Ruby and her family though." Weiss explained quickly, noticing a guard turn in their direction.
"We understand." Taiyang nodded. "This first bit isn't that important anyways. Just wanted to make sure we didn't miss anything."
Weiss nodded and led her professors back to the guards who were already approaching them.
"These two guests seem to have misplaced their invitations." Weiss stated to the guard as she continued walking past, forcing him to reverse his path.
"Miss, you are not permitted to be out here." He said uncertainly.
"This is an issue I was required to rectify. Do you have a problem with that?" Weiss asked coldly.
"N-no p-problem!" He almost jumped at Weiss's tone.
"Good, now show my guests to their seats. I want them no farther than the fourth row. Move someone else if you have to." Weiss gave a last nod to her professors before she walked back to the room Winter was waiting for her in front of.
She didn't say a word as she opened the door for the bride. Weiss walked in and almost froze as she found herself face to face with her father. In his hands rested her weapon, now gleaming silver as the polish that had been applied picked up all the light it could. She blinked her thoughts away as she moved to resume her seat at the vanity, waiting for her father to speak.
It was a long silence as Weiss continued to fix her makeup and hair. It was about forty minutes later when she'd finally finished that she looked up to find her father simply watching her from the same spot he'd been when she first reentered her room. Noticing her stare in the mirror, he cleared his throat.
"Today is a day of beginnings, Weiss." He stated simply as he approached with her weapon while he slid it into an equally silver sheath. "Marriage will test your strength like I'm sure nothing else will. But you will not disgrace the Schnee name."
Weiss felt a wave of nausea wash over her. Her father wasn't asking her, he was commanding her. She remained silent as nothing she could say right now would make any difference.
"This weapon has been passed down from generation to generation within our family. A fact which I'm sure you already know." He continued, looking at the fine weapon in his hands. "Not only does it embody the purpose we serve, it shows our loyalty to our fellow man…. Your husband is one of very few that I found to be a suitable head to our dynasty, as I will be retiring next year."
"Suitable for the company." Weiss echoed in a dull laugh. "I'd run circles around him."
"Weiss, you must learn your place in life." Her father replied sharply. "Insulting your husband is not your place."
"We're not married, not yet." Weiss replied equally as sharp. "And if you cared for me in the slightest, you'd call this whole thing off and let things return to how they were before."
"You should understand by now, it is our family's duty to provide for the protectors of human kind. Today, it is your duty to ensure a competent man is the one to take up that duty." Her father responded in kind.
"And you're not listening! What if I was the one to take over?" Weiss asked, losing her patience. "I'm more competent than all of those assholes you had at the dinner yesterday!"
Weiss flinched as she watched her father raise his hand as if to hit her. He seemed to take notice of the reaction and stopped before he made contact. After a few seconds he dropped his hand to his side and dropped Myrtenaster unceremoniously into Weiss's lap.
"Be that as it may, you are a woman." He stated simply as he approached the door to the room. "You will never run this company, except from the shadow of a husband. You will never sire an heir, save with the help of a husband. And you will never amount to anything… without… a… husband."
With that, he left, leaving the door open for Winter to reenter as he stormed down the hall. She closed the door quietly and simply waited for Weiss to speak. Weiss didn't doubt she'd heard the entire exchange from the other side of the door. She knew she'd be going against her father, and she had been more than willing to do so for the past years of her life, but now she was afraid and uncertain about continuing.
"Am I really doing the right thing, Winter?" She asked quietly, but she knew there was no way Winter had missed the question.
"Only you can answer that question." Winter responded as she slowly approached. "Just think of Ruby and you'll find your answer…. But if I had to say, I'd say you're making the right choice."
"How do you know that though?" Weiss asked again as she turned to her sister.
"Call it intuition." Winter replied with a smile, pulling out her scroll and loading a picture she'd taken. Weiss recognized the background as the room they'd spent so much time on the contract in. She and Ruby were leaning against each other sleeping, Weiss with a handful of papers in her hands, and a notebook and pen in Ruby's. Ruby had her head in the crook of Weiss's neck and Weiss had hers resting atop of Ruby's. It was a scene that spoke volumes about their relationship. It told of how well they worked together, how well they got along, and how much they trusted each other. Weiss noticed the small smiles gracing both of their faces and couldn't feel a pang of remorse for her earlier questions.
"You're right. I'm in love with that dunce." Weiss grinned up at her sister who leaned down into a hug.
"Good, because today is when you'll get to prove it to everyone." Winter replied with a gentle squeeze. "I'll do my part, just remember to keep that anger of yours inside until you need it."
Weiss felt herself laugh at the idea of Winter finding her punching trees a second day in a row. "Don't worry, I don't think the trees deserve another beat down."
"Good. And try not to hit father too hard, either. He is retiring soon, after all." Winter laughed in response as she extricated herself. "But I'm going to go check how long we have to wait. I don't think there's too much time left until we start."
"Alright, just remember that a lot of this depends on timing." Weiss reminded her as she left. She looked back at the mirror and sighed as she noticed how fake her makeup made her look. "Well, this junk is coming off…"