The sound of the heaters that kept the kingdom of Mantle warm was the first thing that Winter heard as she stepped out of the airship.
Atlas airships and especially Atlas military airships are the most advanced airships in the world, meaning that, unlike the ones that Vale or Mistral use, Atlas Airchips can drop people off on top of a building and not risk damaging anything.
The building that she was on, wasn't anything important, not anymore at least.
It was here that her grandfather built the first Dus factory that started their fortune, the factory was abandoned years ago, because of how dangerous it was.
Back then no one knew how to process dust safely, but no one cared about that as long as their loved ones survived.
She has a lot to think about and unfortunately, she finds herself agreeing with her father.
The cold wind blows forcing her to shiver, but she ignores it and looks at the people going about their lives, She has to admit that she's disgusted that a family of Faunus is allowed to bathe where the humans bathe.
For a brief moment, she is tempted to alert the authorities, but she remembers that Mantle is trying to change and abandon its old ways.
Perhaps she needs to do the same.
The world agreed to treat the Faunus equally and every kingdom has made progress but change takes time and people's opinions take even longer to change.
Not to mention that the faunuses ' actions and demands make it even harder for people to sympathize with them.
She turns and walks to the door that leads into the building but she's forced to break it open when she finds that it's locked.
The inside of the factory is even colder than the outside world, not to mention how dark it is inside.
She summons a pair of lights that work as explosives just in case she runs into something that shouldn't be here.
She soon finds herself in her grandfather's old office and unsurprisingly it's empty, all of the furniture is gone.
She stands in the room and imagines how life must have been back then.
She knew that her grandfather used slave labor back then, it was a common thing at the time after all, but he was different.
The men and women that worked for him did so eagerly, he always made sure that the people that worked for him were fed, and kept warm, that their families were always in the best conditions possible.
She remembers a time that is now nothing more than a memory, a time before her father took control of the company when she was still small and her grandfather was still leading the company.
She would sit on her grandfather's lap as he signed his name on papers or looked through documents.
She remembers how he coughed blood, as the dust sickness began to overwhelm him.
After that was followed by another began to roll down her cheek, her father was right, Winter began to accept her father's words, her grandfather knew the kind of man that her father was.
Her grandfather was a man who lived through a time when everyone sacrificed themselves for the kingdom.
Her grandfather had led his men into the wilderness and worked in the mines with them and paid the price for it, just like the men around him he too was poisoned by the very thing that they depended on to live.
From her grandfather's point of view, her mother marrying her father was just one more sacrifice that would secure their family's future and with it, the kingdom's future.
"What do I do?" she asks herself.
"Do what you want to do." her grandfather says to her as the lights in the factory turn on for the first time in years.
Winter turns and finds that her grandfather and mother are standing at the door.
"You haven't changed. You are still that girl that would run in here with a smile on her face." her grandfather says to her, but his voice is barely above a whisper.
"Grandpa you shouldn't be here." Winter says to her grandfather but he silences her by lifting his hands as if asking her to hug him.
She does before looking at her mother and doing the same to her.
"We knew that you would come here, you always come here when something troubling you." her mother says to her.
"I don't know what to do."
"I mean I know what I have to do, but." she says to the two of them.
"Back then things were different, I thought that we could make things work and we did for a time." her mother says to her.
"Winter do what you want."
"Run away and leave this kingdom behind, marry the Arc heir, or say no to marrying him, but remember that whatever you do there will be consequences and you will have to live them." her grandfather says to her before he starts to cough violently.
Winter wants to say something but she doesn't as her mother takes her hands and looks into her eyes, Winter can see the weight of the years along with the emotions that her mother has felt combined with what the woman is feeling now.
"You've grown into a wonderful woman, no one will force you, We will stop your father from forcing you." her mother says to her and Winter feels her heart hurt.
"What about Weiss?" she asks her mother who can only close her eyes with regret.
Winter closes her eyes and thinks to herself "What's one more sacrifice."
"Grandpa, I'll agree to marry him and I'll do my best to make it work but I want to use this marriage to bring Mantle back to when it was thriving even if it breaks me." she says to her grandfather who can only smile at her words.
Winter turns to look at her mother whose eyes have gained a hardness to them, and they now resemble the same eyes that she grew up seeing.
"You will turn your father and the general against you, not to mention Atlass's council." her mother warns her.
'I know." she says to her.
"Then you won't do it alone." her mother says to her as her little brother walks into the office.
Neither of them says anything but Winter can't help but do something she hasn't done since her brother was in diapers, she hugs him before kissing his forehead.
"I'm sorry." she says to him, before she feels his arms wrap around her as he returns her hug.
"Whitley and I will handle things in Mantle, so let us handle things here." her mother says to her.
Winter takes one more look at her family and says "Goobie." before she leaves the room.
She would have liked that her sister was here but knowing Weiss she would be training and wouldn't know abut anything that happened, until much later.