Weiss Schnee

Weiss Schnee is a renowned fencer in Atlas.

Weiss Schnee could buy enough gravity dust to make an entire house out of.

Weiss Schnee is the crown Princess of Vale!

Weiss Schnne-!

"-Does not need a reason to check on a researcher under her contract!" Her voice echoed to no one except the semi conscious carriage she rode in, though even it would be smart enough to pretend it hadn't heard anything. If it had ears. Or a brain. Or any means of expressing anything.

Ruby had been in her new workshop for a week. It had been a week since she was first shown it, but the problem was that she had been in there for a week. Weiss may or may not have told the security to notify her of Ruby's comings and goings, and so far they had all reported the same thing. Her front door had remained closed for a week.

"It's not like I'm worried about her or anything... just... checking progress. Yeah." The silence after she finished talking made her despise the fact that Vale had crickets. She sighed and returned to gazing out the window.

"I wonder if this is how her sister feels..."

The second the carriage pulled to a stop she was out of it, she almost forgot to put it back in her Scroll as she marched into the building. A rising urge to yell Ruby's name from the foyer was quelled only by the fact that it wasn't empty. Weiss was angry at the girl for the silence... but she was mainly focusing on that because her worry for the girls health... or life... was something she didn't want to entertain.

She didn't even bother knocking, simply flinging the door open and taking two marching steps in, she was glad she hadn't worn a dress for this.

"Ruby Rose-!"

"BOOYAH!" Weiss nearly threw up as a wave of mana pulsed through the room. The feeling moved through her body and she could identify each and every cell that it passed through as it made its way into her front and out of her back. The feeling was invasive, terrifying, like having a ghost pass through you. Ruby's excitment was a distant sound, the ground was far more inviting as she was brought to her knees, the only thing keeping her breakfast inside of her was pure determination and will.

Slowly but surely she looked up, trying to find what had done this to her. Her eyes found her target immediately.

Ruby was crouched down in front of one of the four magic circles. They each were glowing with bright hues, three of them were mixes of reds and oranges, but the one Ruby found herself in front of was a mix of different blues. Each circle had a word written in the air above it, made of the same light, each word was different and a parchment layed in the middle of them all with at least one hundred words crossed out.

Ruby smiled brightly as she moved her hand over the word in blue.

"Spiritus... three down... two to go." She held a face of determination and stood with a clap. The circles all cut off and the words and lights disappeared. "I can't wait to tell-" Her eyes flicked to the princess still on the floor. "-Weiss??"

Ruby was at her side in the next second.

"Weiss oh my God are you ok??" With Ruby's help Weiss managed to stand, though her legs still felt like jelly.

"W-was that...?" Ruby nodded as she helped her over to a chair.

"Boy, you really do have great timing, you know that?" Ruby laughed awkwardly as she went to fetch her some water.

"How are you fine??" Weiss was already feeling better, but she still took the water gladly.

"After the first two times I expected it. Plus the failed checks let off a smaller version of the same thing, so I'm kinda used to it." Weiss took this chance to get a better look at Ruby. Bags under her eyes, hair a mess, her clothes looked more exhausted then her... had she been eating?

"Ruby?"

"Yes Weiss?" The girl smiled brightly, awaiting praise.

"Is your fridge still full?" Weiss crossed her arms and stared at her.

"U-umm... I... maybe...?" Ruby took a step back then hurried over to the fridge. "Yeah, it's still got everything, what did you want?"

"No, Ruby! What have you been eating for the last week??" The princess stood at this point, hurrying over to confront the girl.

"I've eaten... I'm not sure... I know I have but..." Ruby looked away shyly, a small blush on her face.

"Ruby..." Weiss shook her head and took a peek into the fridge. "I'm making you something. What do you like?" She was already in the fridge, not giving Ruby a chance to disagree.

"Umm... cookies...?" Weiss face palmed.

"Weiss? Why the sudden call? Is everything alright?" Weiss sighed as she heard her sisters voice.

"Not exaclty... well... I suppose there's some really good news.. but that's not what I'm calling about." Winter's eyebrow raised.

"You can't just say that and then not share, dear sister." Weiss sighed, of course.

"Ruby cracked the third Phrase... only two left to go." The expectation was for the elder Schnee to jump with joy, instead she was met with stunned silence.

"That... that is good news. But... not what you were calling for...?"

"Ruby looks like she hasn't eaten for days... hell it loons like she hasn't done anything but worked for days. I know she hasn't left the workshop for a week, but the only thing she told me she stopped working for was to go to the bathroom... and trust me, it wasn't for a shower..."

"I'm suprised your calling if your this worried."

"She's asleep... after her excitement died down she collapsed... she's in bed now..." Weiss leaned back and sighed.

"You clearly want to say more." Winter folded her arms.

"I'm just... her bed was unused Winter..! It was exaclty the same as the last time I saw it... her clothes weren't unpacked yet... it looks like she just started working when I showed her the place and never stopped!"

"Weiss. Calm down. Perhaps she was simply on a roll? Theres no reason to assume this is normal behaviour."

"Your right... i should find out." Weiss stood and Winter's eyes went wide.

"Wait what? Weiss?" She ended the call before Winter could continue, Ruby wasnt going to give her answers any time soon. But she knew who might.

"Well they are well off aren't they?" Weiss marched up to the front door like she owned the place, the property of one Yang Xiao Long and her family. Weiss wasn't confident they'd be happy to see her, but they should at least try and help after she explained... hopefully she got that chance.

After ringing the doorbell, the wait was surprisingly long. Given the size of the property, she expected to be welcomed in by a maid or butler... not a child.

"H-hello...?" The girl looked around eight years old, ebony black hair that was clearly a gift of her faunas mother genetics, and naturally glowing orange eyes. Weiss could feel the latent mana dripping from those orbs, despite her age and seemingly shy nature... she was very strong.

Her cute pigtails nearly made Weiss forget that.

"Hello, are either of your mother's home?" Weiss tried her best to put on a patient and nurturing voice, it was a lot better then it would have been a month ago. She had to use it a lot with Ruby.

"I... I think Mama is home... I can go-"

"Celica? Who's there?" A boy this time joined the girl at the door, he was only a little taller then his sister and from Weiss's best guess was about the same age. Bright blonde hair that was rather short, with cat ears perched on top that matched the colour of the rest of his head. His eyes were a deep blue, Weiss studied them for a moment, curious as to where he got the affinity for Water from.

His own eyes were studying her as well. She watched as he tensed a bit after a few seconds then slowly put a hand on his sisters shoulder.

"Celica? Can you go get Mama?" The girl was confused but nodded and zipped away, Weiss was a bit wide eyed at her sudden speed. Children really weren't good at limiting there magic.

"So what's your name?" She turned her attention back to the boy and was met only with a glare and crossed arms. Her theory for his behaviour towards her was feeling more and more accurate as he said nothing.

It was only a minute before a familiar face appeared at the door, though not exaclty a friendly one.

"Hello Blake, its good to see you again." Weiss bowed her head slightly in greeting.

"Schnee." Blake folded her arms and glared at Weiss, she had to try her best to not point out the mother and son pulling the exact same pose.

"I was hoping we could talk a bit. I-its about Ruby."

"Is she ok??" The mood switch was enough for Weiss to flinch, but she quickly recovered.

"She's sleeping right now... as far as I can tell she hasn't for the last week. As for eating I'm not sure either. I wanted to find out of this is normal behaviour or-" Blake raised a hand signalling her to stop then knelt down to her son.

"Sun? Can you go call your mother please?" The boy nodded slowly.

"Is Aunt Ruby ok...?" She gently pat his head and gave a soft smile.

"She will be... she just needs a little help." With that the boy left, though reluctantly.

Blake stood once more and sighed.

"I suppose I should invite you in for coffee since we'll be waiting..."

"Umm... do you have tea...?" Blake blinked at that and Weiss watched her fight off a smile.

"It's a lovely home."

"Uh-huh."

"The decor is beautiful."

"Thank you."

"This tea is delightful."

"Yep."

"How old are your children?"

"Four."

"F-four??" Blake shrugged.

"Hellhounds grow fast early on." The smirk on her face was the first bit of emotion she had shown Weiss. They sat in the dining room, taking up the space of a corner of the big table. The tea was indeed lovely, though Weiss suspected that Blake hadn't made it herself in a while.

"When will your wife be home?"

"Should only be a little longer-"

"Blake! Where's my welcome home smooch??" Yangs voice rang through the hall leading to the dining room and Blake rolled her eyes as she stood.

"Ew Mum!" Sun's voice nearly matched his mother's in volume and Weiss wondered how the soft spoken Blake dealt with this all the time. Poor Celica might not have it much better.

"I'll be back." Blake walked out and Weiss may as well have been twiddling her thumbs for the next five minutes. Yang and Blake entered hand in hand and Weiss ignored Blake's suddenly dishevelled hair.

"So. Your Weiss Schnee? Neat." Yang sat in her wifes old spot at the table and Weiss felt the urge to shuffle away from her. Blake joined Yang in a seat opposite Weiss and the princess had to wonder if the faunas was just trying to get away from her.

"It's a pleasure to meet you. I've learnt a lot about you Miss Xiao Long." Weiss bowed her head once more and Yang didn't seen phased.

"So. What's up?" The bluntness had to make Weiss consider if this was common behaviour or if Blake's unwelcomeness spread to her wife.

"I was wondering if you could tell me about Ruby's work habits. Her current method of... researching... seems rather detrimental to her health." Yang raised an eyebrow at that and leaned in closer. She studied the princess for a good few seconds and Weiss felt like she was staring into a heater, her eyes watering as Yangs violet eyes burned into her.

Oh purple eyes. Yang had an affinity for Water, that's where Sun got it from.

Yang sighed and leaned back.

"Ruby... loses herself when she's researching... when she's working on anything magic really... she stops being able to see or focus on anything else... it's honestly a little scary... but worse is what it does to her.." Blake leaned over and held her wifes hand, which gave Yang a small smile. "She only stops once she's finished what she's trying to do... and when someone tries to stop her before that she gets angry..."

"Is there any way to make it better? I don't want Ruby wasting away in there..." Weiss looked down, the mood growing sullen.

"Why so you care anyway?" Blake quickly changed that. "Worried she'll be a waste of resources?" Weiss wanted to refute that, but anything a Schnee could say would be seen as a lie to a Faunas.

"Blake? A word?" Yang stood and dragged her wife out of the room to the confusion of both Weiss and Blake.

This awkward silence didn't last as long however, she could hear them speaking behind the closed door... though she couldn't understand what was said. It was broken up by strange and random volume changes, odd ringing that seemed to carry from it, and it would cut out randomly. A spell to stop eavesdropping perhaps.

When they returned Blake looked quite guilty and refused to meet Weiss's eye.

"Weiss...-" First time the faunas had said her name. "-t-thank you... for the key..." Weiss wasn't sure the spare key to Ruby's workshop had even arrived yet... good to see it didn't get lost.

Yang nodded, seemingly satisfied with her work, then sat once more.

"It's no problem Blake... I can have one made for you as well if you'd like Yang." Yang pondered for a moment then shook her head.

"I don't think Ruby would like me just popping in like that... she... values her privacy. From me anyway..." Yang looked away and Weiss winced.

"Ruby's father might be able to help... he's gotten Ruby to stop before." Blake chimed in, trying to help the situation.

"At the cost of there relationship... Ruby hasn't talked to dad in ages..." Yang sighed once more.

"What is going through Ruby's head...?" Weiss mumbled but it was caught by Blake.

"She's surrounded by non humans... growing up, Yang didn't change at all for Ruby, neither did her father or me... hell Yang and I are older then Ruby's mother... and Summer not being around anymore isn't helping things..."

"Her sense of time is all jumbled up... one day Summer is sick and gone... the next Ruby is eighteen and our kids look nearly ten... it's weird for her." Yang looked away.

"May I... may I say something blunt?" Weiss spoke nervously, but she recieved nods from both of them. "I dont think Ruby believes you have any confidence in her..."

Blake looked instantly guilty and Yang just looked hurt.

"Any confidence...? I do...! I believe in her! I know she can do this." Yang spoke with strength... but...

"Yang... if Ruby dosent become a Dragon... I don't know if she'll ever stop being a human. I know her mother believed in her and she's haunted by it. She won't give up... but at the same time she's worried she can't do it... If... If Ruby fails... if she can't do it... she won't stop... she'll keep going... she'll age and die and you'll still remain unchanged. Her whole life will have passed by and to the outside it'll look like you haven't aged a day... that must be terrifying for her."

"I love Ruby... I know she's my little sister but... I always kinda saw her as more of a daughter you know...? Kinda hard not to... I was twenty-four when she was born... sure... I was still a kid to Hellhounds but... with Ruby and Summer there thinking on that time frame was difficult..." Yang looked to the door and smiled.

"I think Ruby feels that too... I love my kids... and in a way she probably feels like one of them... It's all just so confusing..." Yang held her head in both hands and let out a groan, to which Blake put a hand on her back and tried to comfort her.

"I met Ruby when she was just a baby... it was strange... being introduced to my girlfriends little sister... and being shown a baby she was cradling like she was her own... I love Ruby... she's part of our family... if this is what she wants to do with her life, then I want her to do it... to be happy... but..." Blake looked down, tears welling in her eyes. "Her life is so short compared to ours... every moment counts... it hurts that what she wants to do barely involves us..." Weiss wasn't sure what to feel as she watched the faunas... Blake... burst into tears. Weiss cared about Ruby... she knew she did, perhaps more then what was normal for friends... but this? Blake and Yang each loved Ruby like they were her parents... Weiss didn't even know a fragment of how this must feel for them.

By the time there kids were considered adults in there cultures... Ruby would be long gone. Ruby would be a memory, and how were they supposed to handle that? The struggle between letting Ruby do what she wants and wanting to spend what little time she had with them... Did Ruby even know they felt this way?

Did they want her to know?

Would she want to know?

Weiss supposed it didn't matter for now.

With new conviction, she stood, both sets of eyes looked to her and she leaned forward, cupping one of Yangs hands, and one of Blake's.

"I swear on my name and all I have... I will make sure your daughter is safe." The words left her mouth before she could regret them, and her blushing face tried its best to keep her determination front and centre.

Yang smiled softly and shook her head a bit.

"You guys probably shouldn't call her that before I accidentally call her that myself..." She chuckled a bit and Blake snorted. The sound was followed by an awkward silence before all three of them started laughing, Weiss only slightly delayed by being unsure if it was alright to laugh.

"Thank you for the tea... and the chat." The sun was setting at this point, but Weiss was smiling, she hadn't expected to waste her day here, but she also didn't expect her visit to be pleasent.

"Its no problem Weiss." Yang had a confident smile, her tears from earlier dried.

"If you wanted to visit, feel free to anytime." Weiss tilted her head at Blake's sudden shift in demeanour, even Yang seemed suprised. "P-provided you bring Ruby... of course." Blake blushed and coughed into her fist which made Yang bellow with laughter.

"I'll try and bring her hear for dinner soon if that's alright." Yang and Blake both nodded at that, and they all said there goodbyes.

Weiss stared out the window as her carriage took her to Ruby's workshop, she knew that the girl would probably still be asleep... but she also needed to eat something.

After humming for a bit, she pulled a hand held Scrying orb from a drawer at the front.

"Winter Schnee."

"Weiss?? Where have you been?? You hung up on me!" Winters annoyance did little to hid her worry and Weiss simply chuckled.

"Winter, could you talk to Mr Pelladonna for me?"

"What? What for?" Weiss thanked God that Winter was fine with leaving her questions unanswered.

"Ruby's problem stems from being too focused... we need someone in the workshop with her."

"Oh? Was an assistant part of the contract?" At this point Weiss shouldn't be suprised that Winter could understand her so well.

"No... but I'm not going to give Ruby a choice. I made a promise today, one I intend to keep."

"A promise? To who?" Weiss blushed as Winter asked that question, flustered, angry and confused at the response her brain instantly leaped to.

"My future in-laws."