Weiss Schnee
A date. Weiss Schnee had been asked on a date. One she hadn't refused.
"And of course it couldn't have been from the one person I actually wanted to ask me."
Still, her position and the arrangement between them meant she couldn't exaclty refuse when Jaune asked her to lunch... she wasn't even sure if he meant it as a date or more of just a 'get to know each other' type arrangement.
She couldnt be angry at him though... he had actually been perfectly understanding when she had asked him to not mention the wedding around her friends, and he had actually been trying to become good friends with Ruby as well when he found out Weiss was close with her.
"A perfect gentleman huh..."
So here she was. Seated at a Cafe in the noble part of town but as close as she could possibly find to the faunas district. Weiss had never heard of a Cafe before coming to Vale, she had grown quite fond of the idea pretty quickly after visiting her first one though.
This particular place was run by faunas, she had chosen it as a regular place to visit simply because she knew her father would never be caught dead in it... How much of her life did she devote to simply trying to defy him? Would she be happier if she stopped acting so often out of pure spite?
"Questions for later."
Jaune had arrived only recently and sat opposite her... with Pyrrha in tow. Weiss had winced when she saw the Amazon enter the Cafe behind Jaune... sure she was his Knight and bodyguard among other things but... this was just cruel.
"Guess I can add idiot to things I know about the Arc heir..."
An awkward silence filled the table as they waited, the only sound to be heard was Weiss taking a sip from her drink every now and then, simply water for now. She could talk first but... well, she wanted to make this as awkward as possible.
After everyone was sufficiently uncomfortable, Jaune finally cracked.
"So ummm... we gonna get a waiter any time soon...?" He'd never been to a Cafe? Weiss had assumed he'd lived in Vale all of his life.
"Your supposed to go up to the counter to order Jaune." Pyrrha helpfully cut in, allowing Weiss to remain silent.
"Oh umm... I'll go get a drink then. You ladies want anything?" Pyrrha sighed at that and gently shook her head. Weiss simply raised her cup in response and with a nod Jaune left to the counter.
Leaving Weiss and Pyrrha alone.
The Cafe was empty besides them and the woman behind the counter, who had a pair of absolutely adorable bear ears. Weiss knew that not many people came in at this time, and even fewer would enter thanks to the princess of Vale being inside. Though, privacy was exaclty what she wanted today.
"If I may Princess... Why did you agree to this?" Pyrrha seemed to be hiding a level of annoyance, though not very well.
"Jaune invited me which meant I couldn't refuse." A simple and straightforward answer, though it came out almost as rigid as her back felt right now.
"Because of the wedding. And yet? It feels like you're here for a different reason today.
"I play with the cards I'm dealt, and this particular one allows me to talk to you."
"Me?" Pyrrha reared back a little with a hint of shock on her face.
"You're in love with Jaune." The man in question had begun speaking to the lady behind the counter, he was far enough away that they could speak in peace.
"W-what...??" Pyrrhas face erupted in a red akin to her hair, seeing Conquest herself in such a flustered state was quite entertaining. "I... Jaune is simply my... we... we're just friends...!"
"You can't lie to me about this Pyrrha... I recognise how you look at him." She emphasised her point with a sup of her drink, something she had picked up from Ozpin.
"What do you-"
"I look at Ruby the same way." Welp, she had said it. It was probably the easiest way to get Pyrrha to help her... and she would definitely need her help.
Pyrrha looked a mixture between confused, shocked, and completely unsure of what to say next... so Weiss continued.
"I have no intention to marry Jaune... and I know you certainly don't want me to marry him, so we can help each other."
"Why...? Whats the point in my help? If you don't want to marry Jaune you can simply-"
"My father is using the wedding as a threat. Currently... Ruby is... working on something. If she manages to finish it before the wedding? Then my father definitly won't go through with it... but if Ruby dosent... and if Jaune awakens then..."
"But... between Yang and Ruby's uncle... surely you have enough power to oppose your father."
"I wish I could say so... but Whitley is still in Atlas... I'm unable to contact him and i know my Father can... if Whitley sends the Atlas military here... we wouldn't stand a chance." Pyrrha nodded in solemn agreement, Ozpin had surrendered Vale without a fight, but many had doubted that they could have won anyway.
"But even with me on your side... myself and Death couldn't beat the military."
"The powers of Death, Conquest and War could be enough of a threat to keep my Father from throwing the military at us." It was a gamble to say the least. Especially since War was currently-
"Yangs mother would never agree to... no, not even Yang would agree to this...!" Pyrrha had begun to raise her voice and Weiss furrowed her brow.
"Keep your voice down please..."
"You are speaking of waging a war on Atlas... three Harbingers against so many soilders... do you know how many lives would be ended...?" Weiss had read Qrows report on his battle with Neo at the Blood-moon festival... she knew exaclty what Harbingers were capable of.
"If my Father goes through with it. Look... that's... plan B for now..." Weiss let out a sigh... this was proving more troublesome then she thought it would.
"And what's your plan A?"
"Keep Jaune from awakening and hope that my father calls off the wedding if Ruby dosent manage to complete her work in time..." Another gamble...
"If I'm being honest... I can't stop Jaune from working towards his goal. I've tried many times to get him to relax or take a break but... he's full of determination."
"That sounds quite familiar..."
"There must be some way you've seen him distracted...?"
"Well... yes but..." Pyrrha let out a sigh and tilted her head. "The only time I've seen him stop training has been... today..."
"Oh great..."
"You're not suggesting..."
"If you want to stop Jaune from training the best way would likely be to continue meeting with him..." Weiss could tell that neither of them liked this plan... and yet...
"Why do you love him anyway?" A change in topic was needed... she really didn't want to discuss that with Pyrrha at the moment.
"That's rather rude... I could ask the same of why you love Ruby." Weiss winced. "But... if you must know... I suppose it started when we first met... we were both young. Even for human years, we were only teenagers. I had inherited the title of Conquest when I was very young... everyone I met, no matter how strong... always felt it. The pull, the force that came from me... I could barely keep it contained... everyone saw me as Conquest first... Pyrrha second."
"Except Jaune?" Pyrrha nodded with a small smile.
"When we met... he didn't even flinch. No fear... no worry... he just... introduced himself. It was like my power wasn't affecting him at all. He always calls me Pyrrha... his friend... not Conquest... his knight..." She let out an almost dreamy sigh and Weiss couldn't help but smile.
"Did you ever find out why he wasn't affected?"
"Of course. It didn't take me long to figure it out. Jaune is... well, he's the first male child of the Arc bloodline in a very long time. There's nothing keeping a female member of the Arc line from awakening the power of the Hero, but he felt much more pressure to do so then his sisters. Everyday he trains... everyday he tries his best. He believes he isn't good enough because it hasn't happened yet. When we met... he had already accepted in his heart and soul that he was beneath me... so... he was unaffected by my power."
"That's... quite umm... romantic...?" Weiss didn't even believe herself, Pyrrha simply laughed.
"No... it's really not. But I suppose... nothing can take away what that moment felt like... when we first met. When he stuck out his hand and introduced himself like I was just anyone else."
Weiss nodded... she supposed she could understand that part, Ruby had done something similar when they had met... but that wasn't why Weiss had fallen in love with her.
Jaune had finally managed to return, holding a cup of... well she wasn't sure... but it smelled like whatever Ozpin drank! She had to know!
The next few weeks were spent... not how Weiss wanted to spend any amount of time.
Theatre, opera, fancy dinners, all things she would usually very much enjoy. If her company hadn't been Jaune.
Pyrrha and Weiss had reached an understanding of sorts. Both of them had been trying to get Jaune to understand that Weiss was only doing this as a courtesy.
She kept reminding him that this was just her duty, and Pyrrha kept insisting that Weiss was a 'stuck up bitch' to Jaune. Apparently Pyrrha didn't enjoy saying things like that 'behind someones back' or even to there face so Weiss had to beg her to make it happen. That had been a weird day.
Weiss didn't want Jaune to think she was actually interested in him... but it was made difficult by the fact that he kept ignoring all of her red flags, no matter how many she planted. She had considered telling him outright multiple times what was going on, but talks with both Winter and Pyrrha had dissuaded her from that idea.
Apparently Jaune was too honest, or too 'noble' as Pyrrha put it. If Weiss told him what was going on, he'd immediately call off the wedding, and probably throw Weiss at Ruby to make her confess. Honestly, the more Weiss found out about Jaune the more she respected him.
"Which is what makes this so frustrating!!"
If Jaune failed to understand that Weiss had no interest in him... if he thought she actually liked him. Then there's a chance he could get his heart broken if her plan worked. She was selfish sure, but even she didn't want to hurt him like that... it helped that he was Ruby's friend now.
As for Ruby... Weiss hadn't been able to spend much time with her recently. But she made sure Blake sent her updates, and Weiss had read through all of Rubys new reports, she was actually getting better at writing them, though Weiss suspected that Penny had been helping her.
The dictionary research had finally been finished, and apparently it was a dramatic boost in speed, Ruby's guess was that she would have the complete formula in only eight months now, and that was a very exciting and not at all stressful timeline.
Her father had practically dropped off the face of Remnant. He was boarded up in his office and whenever she attempted to talk with him the only response she recieved was 'wedding planning'. Weiss didn't like the sound of that at all.
Ozpin had been cooking something up recently as well, and had been bugging Weiss for a meeting near constantly... Finally she could take no more of it, and they met in the gardens once again, this time mainly to spite him for bugging her so much.
"Ah! Ms Schnee. So glad we can finally chat." He didn't even bow, simply walked up and sat in his usual chair. "Tell me, why is it that we always meet in this garden?"
"Because I know for a fact it's the one place my father doesn't go in this castle." Well she was only half lying.
"You believe he's bugged the council room?"
"No. I just don't want to discuss things like he does unless i absolutely have to. That council room reeks of a snake pit and I hate it."
"You recall that this was my castle until only recently?"
"Did I stutter?" Weiss had raised an eyebrow.
"Fair enough I suppose. But Qrow reeks more of alcohol then snakes, and I assure you he's the only company I keep that can leave a scent." She grimaced at the thought.
"So what is it you wanted to meet me for?"
"Your running around with the Arc boy." He said it as if he was accusing her of something horrible.
"Is this really what he wanted to talk about..."
"I am fulfilling my duty as his betrothed... I am unable to refuse his-"
"I'm going to cut in there. You're not acting like you want to be Queen." Weiss furrowed her brow.
"I do want to be Queen-"
"Your acting like his hand is the one that's open for offer. If your to be the Queen and not simply married to the ruler of Vale, then you must offer your hand to kiss, rather then kiss a hand offered."
"It's not that simple." Weiss had crossed her arms.
"You want to lead him around so he dosent focus on awakening?" Ozpin raised an eyebrow and held an almost smirk.
"How did you-"
"If I may Ms Schnee. Your time is running out. Your father will soon reach a conclusion and cut his loses. If Ms Rose dosent attain the Dragon formula soon, it will be too late."
Weiss leaned back in her chair.
"What do you suggest I do then..."
"If I may speak bluntly? Go for the throat. You want to rule Vale, but you also want Ruby's hand. These two things are possible to attain at once... but you must force yourself down that path rather then just gently paddling yourself in the right direction. Fate is a fickle beast, any wrong move and it might throw you off course."
Weiss listened along... she kept glancing around the garden, the flowers were still the same as when she arrived, the birds that rested all held the same colouring... it was as if this place was frozen in time.
"What's your endgame Ozpin?"
"Pardon?"
"You gave up the throne peacefully to avoid a war with my father, and now you sit around and feed me information and advice... where do you want to end up once all this is over?"
"It's not that I want to end up anywhere in particular Ms Schnee. I simply have a goal. You on the throne with Ruby at your side, especially while being indebted to me, is in my best interests."
"So you're not even being subtle about wanting me to owe you after all this anymore?" She raised an eyebrow.
"Of course not Ms Schnee. I never believed I was being subtle."
"Your Highness."
Ozpin blinked.
"What?"
"You will address me as 'Your Highness'. Not 'Ms Schnee'."
Ozpin smiled and leaned forward, raising his cup in a toast.
"Of course, your majesty."
"Oh this bitch..."
Go for the throat?
"What the hell does that mean..."
Weiss was grateful for Ozpins help and council, in truth, she would want him on her side after all this no matter what... but the man was definitly easier to understand when Qrow was there commenting on his confusing way of talking.
Perhaps there were ways to act she hadn't thought of yet... methods of advancing her goals she hadn't pursued.
What did she have at her disposal? A near bottomless wallet was a good place to start. She had Ruby working away at the Dragon Formula... a good chip on her side, but until it produced results she couldn't count on it. She had the support of Ozpin, so perhaps she had the Hunters on her side... but it's not like they could fight the Atlas Military. Qrow supported her... or, at least didn't disapprove of her pursuing Ruby... Pyrrha would be helpful so long as her plan kept Weiss from marrying Jaune... which it always would.
"Yang and Blake..."
An idea she hadn't thought of yet. One was quite the powerful bruiser, to be honest, she had better powerhouses at her disposal if she wanted to go down that route... but Blake...
"A literal ninja... or assassin... no Ninja works."
Perhaps she needed to do things more tactfully... assassinating her father was out of the question, that would simply incur Whitley's wraith... and it was still her father... she wasn't sure how she felt about that.
But spying? Stealing information? Maybe a route she could go down... so long as Blake would agree to-
"You want me to break into the Kings office and look for dirt on him?" She had called the woman before she had even realised it herself.
"Yes."
"So you can marry my Wifes sister, who I view as a daughter."
"...yes."
"...Hello?"
"Yang?? Where'd Blake go?"
"Oh, she handed me the Scrying Orb? Said she had to find her boots or something."
Blake's voice rung from the background of the call.
"There's no way I'm missing the chance to break into a Schnee's office again!!"
"...Well... at least she's agreed to-... wait. Again!?"
"Don't Weiss... just... don't ask..." Yangs sigh and tired expression was enough to convince the princess.
Yang hung up after that and Weiss wasn't sure what to think. On the one hand... that had gone... well? But on the other...
"Did I just ask a Faunas to break into my father's office and look for dirt on him...?"
Oh yeah, there was nothing wrong with this plan.