Weiss smirked as she listened to her mother's clacking heels fail to chase her down the hall. Benefits of an egregiously ugly, out-of-date dress— it drew so much attention that it hid her boots. As such, she remained unfettered. Well, not completely.
Her old-fashioned skirt swung around like a damn church bell, and felt like it weighed about the same. It was rigid and nearly impossible to run in, something which she should have considered for her plan.
But Ruby was here, and nothing would stop her.
Guards frequently flew past her, towards the growing commotion elsewhere in the palace. She could hear the distant ringing of steel echoing down the halls.
"My lady, you need to—" a guard tried to stop her, but Weiss had no intention of listening. She lifted a hand and summoned a blast of blinding light to her palm, causing the guard to yelp and stumble back. She relieved him of his shortsword as she passed.
With a means finally in hand, she ducked into one of a thousand empty rooms in the palace and began hacking away at her dress. Ugly as it was, she still felt dirty for cleaving the garment. But Ruby needed her, damn it! The dress became tatters in minutes, and she was back to madly sprinting down the halls, clad only in her humble grey kirtle and her white smock.
Her boots loudly thumped across the hall as the heiress sprinted faster than ever before, sword held out to her side. Thankfully, after one of many turns in her route towards the dungeons, she began to move away from the commotion. Guards no longer passed, the sound of clashing steel faded, and the halls became populated only by the clomping of her boots.
These parts of the palace were generally avoided by her ilk, evident by the gradual transition from gaudy, decorated walls and floors to more utilitarian stone and wood, absent of paintings and tapestries. She knew the dungeon was close, she just had to go through the armory, perhaps even grab a more fitting weapon on—
The armory wooden door slammed open, and a figure stomped out. "I swear to the fucking Shepherd," Knight Captain Pyrrha grumbled. "I am going to murder that— Lady Schnee!"
Weiss jumped as the Knight bowed before her.
"My lady," Pyrrha fretted as she rose. "What're you doing here, there's an intruder!"
Weiss bit her lip. Why would she be going to the dungeons, think, think! She perked up as an idea struck. "I'm here so—"
"You're not here to see the prisoner, are you?" The Captain's eyebrow rose at Weiss. "I suppose I could understand, she did drag you into that… ugh, 'inn'."
"She did not—" Weiss immediately slapped a hand over her mouth, but the damage was already done. Nobody was supposed to know Rupert was a girl!
Pyrrha's eyebrows only briefly before she fully tipped back, a relieved groan ripping past her lips. "Gods, thank you! I knew she was a girl, nobody would listen!"
"Y-you knew?"
"Of course I did!" Pyrrha laughed. "I'm not blind!"
Weiss gulped.
"Well, I'm sure you'll correct whatever misunderstanding is going on here," the captain said with a chortle. "Just… wait, whose sword is that?"
Weiss looked down at the sword in her hand, then back up to the Knight Captain. "Mine?"
Pyrrha nodded. "Of course, I've heard your ladyship is quite the duelist."
Weiss opened her mouth, but Pyrrha suddenly recoiled.
"The intruders! Pardon me, my lady, I got carried away!" The Captain began to run in the other direction. "Stay safe, don't go without an escort, your father is with the scorpion!"
Even if the words were rushed, they made Weiss go cold. As soon as Pyrrha disappeared around the corner, Weiss burst into the armory and began rifling around for a better shortsword, or a rapier, or even a longsword, anything so long as it would stab better than the dulled thing she had now. Weapons clattered to the floor around her; old, chipped, bent, dull, useless all! She would not face the scorpion without a proper—
She turned to search for more weapons, and what she found quickly brought her thoughts to a grinding halt. A giant block of leather, clasped around a rectangular wedge of black metal. Beside it was a belt with two shortswords, an ax, and a dagger. The falchion, second dagger, and hammer laid in a pile atop a brownish cloak. Weiss scrambled over to the confiscated weapons— absolute proof that Ruby was here. She lifted the belt.
It was heavy, but not as heavy as it should be. Weiss slid the hammer, falchion, and iron dagger into their places. Better, but dust was the thing heavy! How was she going to free Ruby if she had to carry this and her cleaver?
Weiss answered her own question by simply donning the belt. It hung slightly loose about her kirtle, weighing heavily on her hips.
A loud grunt filled the room as Weiss hefted the stupidly large cleaver— gods it was like lifting an entire anvil! The hell was wrong with that girl! No wonder her arms were so…
Weiss, for no other reason than to complete the ensemble, threw Ruby's cloak around her. It smelled nice.
Cleaver around her shoulder, Weiss pushed open the door to the dungeons. It loudly creaked into the empty darkness. Light was scarce, but Weiss followed the few lit sconces deep into the underbelly of Palace Schnee.
The silence was pervasive, and the lights were so infrequent that they made the dark spaces seem infinite. One step after another, Weiss trekked through the dark halls.
She lost track of time as she walked, with most of her bearings being sucked away as she navigated the silent, dark dungeon. She only knew to follow the sconces. It was all she had, her only road to Ruby. She'd be here somewhere.
A piercing cry tore through the silence, followed by loud, babbling pleas. Weiss ran faster. She knew that voice. Her hand found a shortsword. Whatever she saw, whoever she saw, Weiss vowed to repay any pain done to Ruby.
She nearly ran past the giant iron door, only halting when another guttural scream pierced the dungeon. It was like a solid block of metal, but she could see it was unlocked. Whatever guards had been here were long gone, probably departing just before Pyrrha.
"Stop!" Cried the girl on the other end of the door. Weiss grabbed the handle, ready to yank it open.
"Ugh, do shut up," came another voice, one that made Weiss' heart jump into her throat. Her father. She'd been so blinded with saving Ruby, she'd forgotten who it was that brought her here. "This is getting tiresome, and she's not giving us anything new. Let's get this over with."
Pure, unbridled rage filled her veins. Weiss ripped the door open.
Ruby hung limp in a chair, blood dripping from her face and onto her lap as she bit down on her screams. A man, lanky and altogether hideous, crouched beside her form, mallet in hand. He marveled at the girl's shoulder, where a black circle contrasted her pale skin and eked out a stream of blood.
"What in the hell do you want? Can't you see we're busy?" Asked Jacques. He didn't even turn towards her, he just kept staring at the limp, bleeding girl before him, idly jotting words in a small book.
Weiss stared at him, her whole body going numb as her hand moved on its own. With his back turned, Jacques could do nothing to stop the blade from piercing his back.
AN: some people deserve to get stabbed