Weiss Schnee

"I could level this entire room in less then a second."

"The reports state-"

"I wouldn't even need to use complex magic... just one breath attack and it would all be gone."

"-If our information is accurate-"

"Actually even transforming would be enough. I'm sure I could take this room out just by taking out the supports..."

"-The King of Mistral is adamant that you reply-" And that was finally enough. Weiss had hit her limit.

"Neptune isn't a problem. If he wishes to press this problem further, I will count it as an invitation of war." She put her foot down on this, and her voice reflected that fact. Though it only served to make the rest of the council members more hesitant to speak.

"If I may-" Baring one individual... "-As much as I have confidence in our military, Your Majesty... if we were to wage war with Mistral over this issue, it is likely that Vacuo will enter the fray as their ally."

She glanced at Ozpin and waved the comment off with her hand. "We have Atlas on our side. Mistral has no army besides their 'specialists' to comment on, and Vacuo may as well only have Carmine. If war breaks out, I'm confident we would only need to use the Harbingers and Atlas's fleet to solve the issue."

"While it is true that Death and Conquest are powerful... do you believe they would go to war for this?"

"Yes." She didn't hesitate to answer.

"Allow me to rephrase-" But Ozpin was perhaps the only council member that could match her decisiveness with his own. "-Do you believe they would kill so many people over this?"

Weiss kept her eyes locked on Ozpin. She thought about all the times she'd seen Ruby and Jaune interact... all the times she'd encouraged him and pushed him to go for Pyrrha... all the times Pyrrha had enjoyed their company. She remembered Pyrrha holding Argus for the first time, practically glowing when seeing his smile... and for Qrow? She already knew the answer for him.

"Yes."

She trudged into the room. It wasn't a graceful walk or stride, the clacking of her heels didn't incite an air of authority or create a sensual mood like it did some nights... no, today, she opened the door to her room with what could only be described as a zombies grace. The only thing preventing her from flopping face first on the bed was the one still working part of her brain telling her to set a good example for Argus... the one month old baby.

Maybe 'working' was an overstatement.

She was stopped by hands not her own a good three steps into the room, and without warning or a word between them she sank into her wifes hold, practically melting into Ruby's warmth after today. "Hi..." It was the best greeting she could muster for the love of her life, but luckily Ruby was still lively enough for the both of them.

"Hey, you ok?"

Weiss let out a groan and further sank into her arms. "Next question..."

"That great a day, huh?" Weiss felt herself be pulled over to the bed, though it wasn't anything inappropriate. Today she just wanted to lay down, and apparently Ruby knew that, as just like she had wanted before, the girl pulled both of them down onto the bed in a fall. The Queen sighed gently now that she was finally laying down, her exhaustion hitting an all time high now that she was given both the beds warmth and Ruby's. "Wanna talk about it?" Her sweet voice carried a question that Weiss wanted to ignore... but venting would help she supposed...

"Neptune..." One word. Just that single name whispered with venom, and it was enough for Ruby to completely understand. The meetings about the new king of Mistral had been common as of late, and each one left Weiss in a state similar to this thanks to the subject matter. "The council isn't being helpful either..." Each one of them posed the same solution to the problem... and as much as Weiss hated to admit if, if they wanted to avoid war it was the only solution.

Which meant that they would probably be heading to war.

"Weiss... I know how you feel but-"

"But nothing, Ruby." She circled her arms around the girls waist and pulled her closer. "I'm not letting you go..."

"You'd be able to see me all the time." Ruby was trying to be helpful, truly she was. But it annoyed Weiss to no end when she simply suggested giving in.

"I'm not letting you go to prison... or worse." Even talking about this was enough to make Weiss tense to the point of squeezing Ruby. "I'm not letting you go..."

An awkward silence fell over the room for a minute... and it was only interrupted by Ruby's whisper. "Well... like you said... it's ok to let things go."

"Shut up..." She was sick of this conversation... of this line of thought. "My love for you is not so weak that I would let you go that easily..."

Ruby let out a gentle sigh and nodded softly. "Do... do you ever wonder why you love me...?"

The tight embrace was loosened dramatically as Weiss shot her head up to stare into Ruby's eyes. "What??"

"S-sorry! That... that um... came out wrong..."

"How was it meant to come out?" Weiss's voice dripped with accusation, and Ruby held her hands up between them defensively as she spoke.

"I just... we... I mean... kinda fell in love pretty fast..." She slumped her head more the more she spoke, and Weiss reached out to hold her cheek hesitantly.

"Does it matter?"

"W-what?"

"I love you. You love me. We have a child... we're a family. Does what it took to get here matter so much?" In truth, Weiss had pondered on that same question. She had never thought herself someone to fall for another so fast... and it wasn't a soft fall either. Weiss plummeted so fast that any meteor would be jealous of her impact, yet she couldnt fathom as to why. Weiss knew she loved Ruby. She knew that she loved Rubys cute mannerisms and quirks... even the ways she got on her nerves sometimes was always more entertaining then actually annoying. All of that told Weiss that she would love Ruby... it made sense them reaching this point. But so soon?

"I guess... that makes sense." Ruby pulled them together once again, and Weiss let out a gentle sigh as they melted into each other's embrace again. "So... you're not gonna let me go, huh?"

"As if Argus would ever forgive me for it." Weiss replied in a jokingly uptight voice, and they shared a soft chuckle after.

"Well... it's not like I'm ever gonna let you go either." They both shared a soft smile, even if they couldn't see the others faces... and slowly drifted off into a content sleep, still dressed from today, still stressed about the events... but sharing a happy moment together regardless at the end of it.

"I know."

The first concious moments of the day. The moment when dreams melted away and reality broke through the haze of the sleeping mind. These first seconds were strange to Weiss, as always. She couldn't remember who she was or what dream she had. The world around her didn't make sense as much as it didn't matter... and she was oddly peaceful. Feeling safe regardless of it all.

Then, after only a few seconds the feeling washed away, and she was left knowing exactly who she was. She was Weiss Schnee, the Queen of Vale. She was in her room, along with Argus sleeping in his crib only a short distance away, the barrier around it was probably still on. It was as strong or stronger then the barrier used in Amity Colosseum, and among other things it also blocked all sounds from entering... which was useful in their endeavours to not traumatise their infant son.

But something was missing, or rather someone. Weiss slowly sat up with a yawn and glanced around the room. Ruby's cloak was still on its hook, her side of the bed was empty, and the bathroom door was closed... she was probably just getting ready for the day. Lately the Queen Consort had been busy, working away at two weapons. One as a gift for a certain Knight, and one for herself. Clover's weapon was nearly complete, but her own weapon proved to be a greater challenge. Ruby had a shape, being a scythe, but had yet to decide what the thing would actually do... when Weiss had asked her about it, Ruby just responded with an annoyed "Everything!" and continued complaining about how it was impossible.

The Queen chuckled gently just thinking about that, and she slowly rose from the bed to go check on the third member of their little family. Argus was still sleeping soundly, the little angel luckily having recieved his paternal-mothers penchant for sleep... which Weiss was simultaneously extremely jealous about, and extremely thankful for. She deactivated the barrier with her mana - she was one of the only two people who could - and leaned down to get a better look at the boy. Only a month old, yet he was already starting to show some hair. It seemed that Dragon's grew fast in their early years, similar to Hellhounds... among other creatures. Weiss couldn't help but frown as she looked at the white locks sticking up barely from his scalp.

"You couldn't have gotten your mother's hair...?" She practically whined the words out, which resulted in a giggle from the now apparently open bathroom door.

"I thought you were 'mother'." Weiss whipped her head around to look at Ruby, a retort ready on her tounge... but she froze. Getting a feeling of nostalgia she couldn't quite describe as she layed her eyes on Ruby's freshly cut hair... the locks now as short as the day they had met. Ruby tilted her head innocently, as if inviting Weiss to point it out.

"Your... hair-"

"Great huh? Decided to go retro for a little bit." Ruby brushed the topic off with barely a wave of her hand and moved over to the crib, smiling down at Argus.

"You haven't cut it since-"

"Since I became a Dragon..." Ruby finished the sentence for Weiss and they both shared a small look. "I... in one way or another, since becoming a Dragon... i haven't felt like myself. I want to grow my hair out but..." She reached down and gently stroked Argus's cheek. "I guess... I want to be the one to do it... if that makes sense."

Weiss nodded, gently pulling Ruby into a hug as they stared down at their baby... he was so innocent, unknowing about the situation around him or the things that could happen next... Weiss found herself feeling envious of his position. Still sleeping away without a care... and when he woke? He'd still not have a single care. But she supposed that was their job. Ruby and Weiss had to protect him for as long as possible... even long after the point he could start protecting himself. And if that meant working as hard as they could while he continued without a care? So be it.

"Feel lucky that I love you."

She pushed through that day with a smile.

Ruby Schnee

Ruby had taken note of something very interesting. It was a new way of categorising people, which she was mostly using on her friends and family as of late. It didn't have a fancy name or anything, it was just something she had been checking for every single person that came around lately. It was incredibly easy to check as well, all she had to do was introduce them to Argus. From there? Well, it would be pretty easy to figure out who liked babies or not. For example, Pyrrha, Jaune, and obviously Blake and Yang all liked babies... Ruby hadn't actually met Yang's baby yet... that thought distracted her for a moment, but she was pulled back to reality quickly.

"Who's a scary Dragon?? Who's a scary Dragon??" Velvet was firmly in the 'likes babies' category. It was hard to even suggest the opposite as the faunas girl held Argus high up above her head, looking at him with such wonder in her eyes as the baby giggled. Ruby was ready to catch him at a moments notice, but she wasn't stressing really... she trusted Velvet. She trusted all her friends.

"I think he's still got a few years till he's there." Ruby laughed a bit as she spoke, and thanked Jaune as he joined them on the couch, handing her a drink as he did.

"I dunno, he's probably scarier then you, Ruby." Jaune almost smirked at his comment, and Ruby stuck her tounge out at him in rebuttal.

"To team RJVE's reunion!" Ruby called out the happy announcement with a raised glass, and they all joined their drinks together in the air before laughing. Ruby took a small drink before taking Argus back from Velvet, letting him rest comfortably in her arms. No offense meant to Velvet, Ruby just had way more practice then she did.

"Speaking of which, why are we meeting up?" They all turned to Emerald with a glint in their eyes as she spoke, the woman quickly began to look nervous as they all smirked at her.

"As if you didn't miss us." Ruby was the first to accuse her of what was apparently such a heinous crime, but Jaune and Velvet held looks that spoke the exact same sentiment. Emerald meanwhile looked away with what almost resembled a blush, taking a drink with a muttered "Shut up..." that had all the others laughing again.

"But seriously-" Velvet cut in after they had almost stopped laughing. "I wanted to show you guys something cool!" She put her drink down on the coffee table between them all. It neatly tucked into the corner couch they all sat at, Jaune and Velvet taking the inner seats while Emerald and Ruby sat at opposite ends.

Velvet pulled something from behind her, a small box that contained something magical... Ruby could tell with just a glance, but she didn't have to wonder for long. The faunas girl seemed more keen on showing it off then the others were keen to see it, but that quickly changed as they all looked in shock at... a... smaller box...? Ruby had no clue what she was looking at-

"Its a camera?" Luckily Jaune did.

"Yeah, but it's a magic camera!"

"Aren't... all cameras magic..?" Emeralds words were slow and cautious, and just as expected her question earned her a playful slap on the shoulder from Velvet.

"Its special ok!" Velvet almost held a blush from her embarrassment, and Ruby was quick to ask about what 'special' meant before she started laughing again. "Well... I can take photos of rituals with it-"

"Sounds like a normal camera to me-" Jaune mumbled his words as he took a drink, and nearly spilled it when Velvet slapped his shoulder this time.

"Yeah! But the photos this one makes can work as proper copies of the ritual!" That actually got Ruby's attention. She turned to Velvet with a more serious look that was probably undercut by the baby trying pathetically to grab her face from her lap.

"That's... so it can make smaller working copies of much larger rituals with the press of a button?"

"Yeah! See?? Ruby gets it!" Velvet practically breathed a sigh of relief as she spoke, but the others had finally gotten it as well it seems.

"Wow... that's incredible. Did you make this?" Jaune's question earned an enthusiastic nod as a response from Velvet, and the Hero grinned. "You really should just make heaps of those and sell them. You'd be rich."

"Hey can I see it?" Emeralds question was joined with a purposefully guilty expression, and they all laughed at her joke for a moment.

"As much as I'd like to-" Velvets voice turned a little serious now. "I... can't mass produce them."

"Why not?" Ruby's question was an innocent one, but that just earned her a deadpanned expression from the others.

"Cost, Ruby." Jaune was very helpful in his clarification, and Ruby let out a sound of realisation.

"I would like to sell these... but I don't have... the Lien to... do... it..." Her words turned seriously flustered now. She looked down with a giant blush and her ears hung down by the sides of her face. "... This was such a dumb idea Coco..." She mumbled that last part to herself, and Ruby obviously wasn't meant to hear it.

"How many Hunter jobs would it take to get a business started?" Ruby was trying to be helpful, but Emerald decided to be the actually helpful one this time.

"Ruby, she's trying to ask for your patronage without actually asking for it."

"E-Emerald...!!" Velvet whined the name out, but her only response from the dark skinned woman was a shrug.

"But I'm not rich." Ruby's words earned her another round of deadpanned looks from the others, and she was confused for a moment...

"Would you like a refill, Your Highness?" Ruby glanced up at the maid leaning over the coffee table, holding a bottle of whiskey that looked more fancy then any magic item she had ever seen or made.

She didn't even respond to the poor girl, instead just silently squealing at how stupid she was for somehow forgetting that she lived in a castle! And was Queen??

"Well... Queen Consort..."

Not that it really mattered in this circumstance.

"I umm... no I think I've had enough." The maid nodded and stepped away, and the others turned their eyes back to Ruby.

"I mean... it's Weiss's money..." The defense was horrible and they all began to laugh at her in good spirit for a solid five minutes. Even her baby joined in! The little Dragon giggling away with no clue as to what was even funny!

"Traitor..."

She zeroed her gaze in on Emerald, the Vampire laughing so hard it looked like she could fall of the couch at any second. Ruby frowned a bit, but smiled as she thought up an idea. She stood and moved around the coffee table, casually handing her baby off to the very unprepared woman who tried her best to voice some complaints as Ruby casually returned to her seat.

"You havent held him yet." Was Ruby's casual rebuttal. Emerald looked seriously uncomfortable, having abandoned her drink and holding Argus with an incredibly tense body... it was like she was afraid that any movement would shatter him into pieces.

"As for the camera-" Ruby turned to Velvet again. "I'll talk to Weiss about it. Can you leave it with me for a few days? I'll test it out and show her... and maybe I can convince her it's a good idea to invest." She wanted to see her friend succeed, but it also literally wasn't her money to spend. Sure Weiss wouldn't blink if Ruby bought stuff for herself, but that was something entirely different from investing in a business.

Velvet nodded happily and was barely able to form a response, practically throwing the camera at Ruby to make her take it while Jaune watched laughing... but Ruby wasnt really looking at them. She had her gaze set on Emerald.

The Vampire had relaxed now... she was holding him similar to how Ruby had seen Weiss hold him. Her grip was firm yet gentle, she was practically leaning over him to get a good look into his eyes, and her face was lit up with a calm smile that spoke more words then could ever be used to describe how she felt.

Ruby smiled gently at the sight.

"I know which category she's in."