The Mark

He hadn't thought about the situation he had just put himself in. Provoking the guards and, above all, attacking one of them, was probably not the best solution to avoid being noticed. And then there was this little girl dressed all in white that he had taken with him during his escape. The boy was far from suspecting the identity of the latter. He fixed his eyes on the little girl who was dusting her dress, which was no longer as white as when she arrived. Adam looked at her for a moment before speaking.

"And you ? Who are you ?"

"My name is Weiss Schnee ! I'm five years old !" she answered proudly.

The red-haired boy's gaze was lost in space for a few moments. Schnee? From THE Schnee family? He clenched his teeth and his fists. The sounds of guards' footsteps kept moving here and there in the mine. They wouldn't be safe for long, they would find them soon. It was a dream opportunity. Having a Schnee as a hostage would allow him to free his mother and himself. They could escape to the land all Faunus dreamed of: the Menagerie. This idea brought a spark of hope to the boy's eyes.

"I'm sorry, it's all my f-", Weiss began, having sensed tension between them.

"Obviously…!"

Adam stopped short when he saw the little girl on the verge of tears. He cursed himself for a moment for having thought of hurting her. She seemed so fragile, so kind, she couldn't be held responsible for her family's actions, at least not yet. His face softened, he brought his hand towards her and gently patted the top of her head while she wiped her eyes with the back of her sleeve.

"Sorry", the boy apologized. "No, it's not your fault. It's much more complicated than that."

Weiss looked up at him, her eyes still wet and pink and studied him for a moment. He was barely older than her, probably eight or nine at most. His hair was red and brown, uncommon colours in those around the young heiress. His gesture had surprised her more than anything else. This kind of sign of affection was very rare in the house, except when it came from her sister, Winter. It warmed her little child's heart.

The girl flinched as she heard the heavy footsteps of the guards who were getting a little closer every moment, she thus got closer to the boy she had only known for a few minutes.

"They're going to find us," Adam whispered. "They always find us."

"What will happen to you?" Weiss asked innocently.

"Punishing me is what they do best," he replied bitterly.

"But…"

The redhead pressed his hand to the little girl's pink mouth. His heart pounded in his chest as he imagined the torture he was going to endure again. He had already been caught stealing groceries for the other children several times, which had earned him a few lashes. He swallowed at the thought while hearing the voices of the Atlesian guards much more clearly.

"The priority is to find Miss Schnee, don't forget!" one of them said.

"And for the kid ?"

"We'll see in due time !"

Adam waited until they were a little further away to release the pressure he was putting on Weiss. He was thinking of a plan to escape. It wasn't a very complicated task considering he knew the mine corridors by heart. Only there was his mother, who would not have the strength to keep up with him. She was not very old, but the workload she endured every day prevented her from being in good health.

Slaves, both Faunus and fallen nobles, carried various diseases due to lack of hygiene and their chaotic working conditions. It was very rare that a slave born in the heart of the Schnee Dust Company did not live more than thirty-five years on average. Newborns were often physically weaker because of their parents' health, and it wasn't getting better.

He looked at the little girl for a long time while thinking. Maybe it wasn't too late to change things? Maybe if the Schnee Dust Company heiress became aware of the physical and mental torture of her slaves, she could do something for them, for her mother... for him.

"Do you want to help me, Weiss?" Adam asked suddenly. "Do you want to know who is at fault in this whole story ?"

Weiss nodded affirmatively.

"When you grow up and have the Schnee Dust Company all to yourself," Adam began. "Free the Faunus. Create jobs instead where people can get paid for their efforts."

"I don't understand everything, admitted the little girl. You don't make any money?"

"Of course not."

"But Father always told me that the Faunus complained for nothing, that they had everything they needed to live."

Taken aback, Adam widened his eyes. This Jacques Schnee was a real monster without a doubt. The redhead was so surprised by the white-haired girl's remark that he could no longer form a correct sentence.

"I...you..." he stuttered. "It's wrong. We have nothing to eat and work for free day and night. My mother is very ill, and I…"

Actions were better than words. Adam lifted his dirty T-shirt to reveal the numerous pink and white scars that dotted his childish body. Lashes that left clear marks. Weiss was speechless, she had never seen such a thing and cringed when she saw this awful sight.

"That's what the guards do to me when I'm not good," explained the redhead. "They also do this to others if they don't work fast enough.

"It's horrible," said Weiss sadly.

"It is and that's why we need you. If you free us, later we can all live peacefully without killing ourselves at work, you understand ?"

"Yes I understand, I will do my best to make sure it doesn't happen again."

"Your heart is still pure, I am sure you will succeed."

Adam gently ruffled her hair. Maybe they weren't completely lost after all, there was hope. Weiss smiled genuinely. She liked him, this boy with the horns.

Their joy was only short-lived. Brutal blows fell on the rock nearby. They were there, they had found them. Pieces of rock shattered near the two children. The little girl was trembling with fear. Adam took her in his arms without thinking, protecting her from possible rock fragments and hiding her eyes. It didn't take long for them to create a passage in the freshly created fissure.

"They're here !" exclaimed the guard who had been injured by Adam.

The redhead hugged the little girl in his arms. The guard confidently advanced towards the boy and grabbed him by a horn which he pulled violently towards him. The boy groaned in pain, refusing to move away from Weiss.

"Don't hurt him, please !" Weiss sobbed. "He didn't do anything wrong !"

The Atlesian had taken out his telescopic baton and was already giving the young boy a foretaste of his punishment. Each blow was excruciating pain, he could already guess the bruises he was going to get. Adam was screaming as he struggled, so much so that two other guards came to the first's aid to hold him. Only one guard had grabbed the arms of the little girl who was wriggling and crying at her helplessness to help the boy.

The guards took the two children out of the mine under the astounded eyes of the slaves. There hadn't been this much entertainment for a while, and what a spectacle: a Schnee and a Faunus was quite rare! Without gentleness, the guards pushed them outside where they were not surprised to find other soldiers in the company of a furious Jacques Schnee.

"Finally ! Bunch of incompetents! Do you realise your lack of vigilance !?" yelled Jacques. "The Schnee Dust Company heiress kidnapped by a... horned kid ?"

"Our apologies, sir," said all the guards in unison.

"And you think that will be enough to apologise !? You will be punished too!"

He grabbed his daughter's frail little hand and pulled her towards him, away from the red-haired child. Despite his young age, Adam gave him a challenging look which he did not fail to maintain. His white mustache rose slightly, revealing his disgusted look.

"Where are his parents ?" asked Jacques, frowning. "They will be punished for their mistakes."

"According to our information, his father is one of us, sir, explained one of the guards shyly. As for his mother, she did not survive the…"

The boy's face took on a completely different color, whitish. His eyes widened. Jacques gave a little proud smile as he looked at him then turned his head towards the guard who had just announced the news.

"Survived what ?" he repeated, clearly articulating each syllable.

"She was punished earlier when she put her hand on Miss Schnee, sir, but she did not survive the whipping."

Adam's world collapsed around him, he screamed until his voice broke and struggled with all his might, without success. Tears streamed down his cheeks pink with anger. A guard tried to silence him by pressing his palm against his mouth. Very bad idea. The boy did not hesitate for a moment to bite him until he bled. Weiss looked at him without being able to move, she was sobbing too.

A satisfied grin appeared on Jacques' face, he arched an eyebrow as he watched this beast unleash itself with all its being.

"I told you so, my daughter," said the man with the mustache. "They are just monsters."

The blood boiled in the veins of the little heiress.

"He's not a monster!" she exclaimed. "He is nice ! It's you who-"

The dull sound of a slap was heard at the other end of the field they were on. It was the first of a long series. Weiss stood with her cheek flushed from the blow and looked up at her father, her eyes watering with rage.

"Would you have lost your manners in just a few hours, young lady ?" he asked with a harsh look. "We'll deal with that later."

Adam had managed to free one arm to strike the guard who was holding him. He was getting more and more furious. What right did he have to touch Weiss? She was his salvation and that of all the other slaves here, there was no question of her being damaged.

The white-haired man walked towards the boy and looked him up to his full height. The latter stopped moving for a moment to drown in her cold eyes.

"Has he been marked ?" Jacques asked, addressing the guard who was holding the redhead.

"Not yet sir, he is much too young..."

"In that case, you'll fix it, won't you ?"

"Sir…"

"I didn't make myself understood clearly ?"

The guard didn't respond and nodded in agreement. Another had already taken the white-hot iron, ready for this eventuality. Jacques walked away, pulling Weiss with him. She gave one last look to the young Faunus who gave her a weak smile.

"Never forget this day, Weiss !" he said.

"Never…", whispered the little white-haired girl.

The man holding him removed his T-shirt, the marking usually being made between the shoulder blades or lower back. He held both his arms firmly to avoid sudden movements. Adam struggled as hard as he could, he could already feel the heat of the burning iron approaching his already damaged skin.

"I will kill you, Jacques Schnee!" yelled the redhead. "You have my word !"

"Keep quiet !", the guard with the hot iron said impatiently.

Weiss had already reached the Atlesian ship when Adam broke free from the first guard's grasp. He refused to end up like the others, marked by a symbol that indicated the difference between humans and slaves. The redhead had only one idea in mind: grab the hot iron and rush towards the ship to subject the great Jacques Schnee to the same treatment his mother had endured for years.

Adam turned around quickly, ready to do anything to get past the guards. In a clumsy move, the man holding the hot iron mistakenly pressed the symbol to the boy's face. He screamed in pain. The smell of burning flesh went straight to his nostrils and his left eye seemed to burst under the pressure of the metal and the heat. He could no longer think, the pain was so high. Soon his gaze darkened and the boy collapsed heavily to the ground, unconscious.

He had lost everything. His mother. His freedom. His left eye.

The only thing left to him was a few characters on a child's face.

SDC

Thank you for reading ! I'm sorry if my translation and grammar aren't right !