Jaune Arc was brooding. Or sulking. It depended on whether you were asking him or his sister. The reason why he was brooding was at the centre of the merry ballroom, surrounded by laughter and song and dancing that she didn't participate in. Weiss Schnee sat, exuding regal beauty naturally and oh so wondrously, at a high seat above the dance floor and rows of benches that housed nearly the entirety of Vale's upper echelon. Next to her sat her betrothed. Who happened to be not him.
Alexander chuffing Nikos. Younger brother of the Queen of Mistral. Hair as red as blood and a smug satisfied smile resting on his stupid, ugly face.
"He doesn't deserve her." Jaune grumbled angrily, crossing his arms and glaring down at his empty plate. His reflection glared back at him from the silver tableware, blue eyes baleful and blonde bangs curling over his face. He was handsome right? His mother said so sometimes and his mother was honest, brutally so!
"What does he have that I don't?"
"Blood relatives sat on the throne of one of the four kingdoms on Remnant?" Saphron replied dryly, rolling her eyes at him.
"Arc's used to be King's and Queen's!"
"Keyword of that statement is 'used' little brother."
"Saph!"
"I'm not going to help you nurture that obsession of yours little brother." Saphron sighed, the tenseness in her posture relaxing with forced calm. "Times change and so does people's marriage status. Weiss Schnee is taken so accept your defeat graciously. The Mistrali play their games with spies and poison, so be quiet before someone overhears you plotting against our new King little brother."
"I'm not plotting treason!" Jaune exclaimed, aghast at the notion. An Arc's word was true, and he swore fealty to Weiss Schnee long ago.
"Not now at least." Saphron grumbled, noticing the lack of general engagement with festivities around her and taking a small bite from the platter of food in front of them. "Nikos would likely interpret your distaste towards him as a threat. One second your complaining about your precious Ice Queen then shock horror you've been thrown in the dungeon by said Ice Queen's betrothed and then ding dong your head is gone. From your shoulders that is."
"I'm not plotting anything Saph I just…" Jaune trailed off, unsure about what to say. Unsure about whether he wanted to say or had the courage to.
"I know little brother." Saphron smiled sadly, gently resting a hand on Jaune's shoulder and rubbing it gently. "More than you know. But don't worry. There's plenty more fish in the sea."
Jaune said nothing, accepting his sister's comfort with a sigh. He loved Weiss Schnee. It was not a simple infatuation with her looks or the power she wielded. It was love. Pure and true and simple as that. Love for the lonely girl whose eyes, once suspicious and accusing, lit up with joy at seeing him. It was for the girl he had played with in blanket forts and or castles made of snow. For the girl who had protected him from her father's icy wrath whenever Jaune made a mistake.
Jaune missed that girl. He had seen that girl slowly die under the weight of future responsibility, crushed and suffocated with the knowledge she would soon become the ruler of a Kingdom spanning from the icy wasteland of Solitas to the fertile fields of Ansel. He hoped he could alleviate some of that burden with her and had thought she wanted that too. Maybe he was wrong. He was just a dunce afterall.
Jaune Arc was brooding and the reason why was slowly descending onto the dance floor with the man she was going to marry.