Weiss

There had been a certain stigma to being born a Schnee back on Remnant, even in Atlas, where they were viewed as New Money upstarts. While she had been the heiress to the richest family in all Four Kingdoms, Weiss had also been alone, racist, and arrogant. Being born a Lannister would have been similar, if Weiss hadn't gone to Beacon, and gone through so many adventures with Team RWBY. She wasn't alone, now that she had found Blake, which meant that Ruby and Yang were also stuck somewhere in this world! And Weiss had learned to let go of her hatred and distrust of the faunus. Now being arrogant, that was a little bit harder due to her upbringing in both of her lives, yet that didn't mean that Weiss was as bad as the rest of the nobles living in this world. She always tried her best to judge people not by her social status or wealth, but by their character. Once Weiss inherited her Father's position, she would do her best to improve the lives of the smallfolk of Lannisport, and of the lands that were sworn to their cadet branch. But there was always one thing that took longer than usual to get used to in either of her lives.

And that was being told no.

"How rude." Weiss huffed loudly, shooting the mustached man a sharp glare in response to his denial. His body was hidden by the battlements as he stared back while twirling the end of his curled mustache. "We're just passing through, and are asking if we could encamp in the field beside your keep."

"Begone you Lannister!" The man narrowed his eyes. "If you even are one, you look more like a dragon than a lion."

Weiss frowned at the slight to the Valyrian heritage, resisting the urge to unleash a tirade of insults at the man. The color of her hair and eyed had always been a sort of contention back in the Westerlands, since she inherited Mother's Velaryon features, and not the blonde hair and green eyes that every Lannister seemed to have. Still, she had been expecting rejections, many Houses often held strong grudges for generations, even if they forgot the original reason why their conflict started. Much less in the Riverlands, where grudges lasted for centuries, with the Brackens and the Blackwoods as the most infamous example of those.

"Very well." Weiss turned to Cedric, not keen to start any more messes if she could help it. "Come, Ser Cedric, we shall encamp just up the road once we find an empty field."

Cedric nodded. "As you command, my Lady Lannister." He seemed bored rather than annoyed, likely since he was used to camping under the stars. That would've been fun, if Weiss had the amenities from Remnant, she was more of a glamping girl, though she could survive in the wild if need be. Weiss was still a full-fledged huntress, even if her body was younger.

The two urged their horses to turn around, ready to trot back to the rest of her retinue, when Weiss' aura enhanced ears caught whispers from the keep, their voices so low that she couldn't make out any words. That was curious, did someone change their mind?

"Wait." A feminine voice said loudly. Weiss turned her head, but kept Chestnut in the direction of her waiting retinue. This was new, was the lady of the Keep unaware of how her guard acted? Or at least could recognize the danger in making a new enemy? Not that Weiss was planning on being one, she had better things to do than hold grudges against a Riverland House. But of course, they didn't know that. A woman's head appeared beside the rude man. From what Weiss could see, she had long brown hair tied into a braid, and light blue eyes with a heart shaped face. "House Harlton would gladly open its gates to you, Lady Lannister, and allow your retinue to encamp outside of Castlewood's walls. I apologize for Ser Harold's behavior."

Weiss had never heard of House Harlton, and that was even after studying the Houses of the Riverlands in preparation for her travels. They must've been a relatively minor lordly house, or a knightly house. Though given the appearance of their keep, that was to be expected, really.

"Are you sure? We would not want to impose." Weiss guided Chestnut back to the now identified keep. Such a sudden turn around was worrying to her, but she supposed it was better than camping under the stars. If only just.

"Of course." The Harlton girl nodded. "We will bring out bread and salt shortly." At least someone was following the basic courtesies required here. Even if it was a bit delayed, was left unsaid by all parties.

"For that, we are thankful, Lady Harlton." Weiss said loudly. And truly, she was, especially after such a cold welcome. Still, Weiss wasn't a freeloader, and was prepared to at least gift some gold dragons before they left on the morrow.

A Lannister always paid their debts.

The gates to Castlewood were opened shortly after the rest of Weiss' retinue started preparing to camp for the night. Four armored men with green cloaks guarded a woman on horseback, obviously the Lady of the keep. Weiss approached with Cedric and four more of her guards just behind her, as the rest protected her servants who were setting up tents outside the walls.

The Harlton knight and men-at-arms wore old and well-worn armor, primarily scale iron shirts and lighter mail with half-helms. Lady Harlton wore a modest dress, green with a silver tree in the middle of her bodice. A second girl was with her, she seemed older, and had similar features. Likely her mother, or older sister, if she had to guess. Yet, why would she be on foot, while Lady Harlton was ahorsed.

"Lady Lannister, a pleasure to make your acquaintance. I am Marianne, of House Harlton." Lady Harlton said as the two groups approached slowly. She looked a little older than Weiss, and her voice was softer, now that she wasn't yelling from the battlement. Ser Harold, the rude knight from earlier, kept shooting glares in Weiss' direction. Someone had a bit of an issue with her, it seemed. Was it protectiveness, or something more personal?

"And I, yours, Lady Harlton." Weiss said with a practiced smile, ignoring the rude knight. "My apologies if we caused an inconvenience."

"Please, there is no need." Lady Harlton formed a tight smile in response. "Castlewood doesn't receive many guests, hence Ser Harold's rudeness." It seemed plausible, but she was uncertain. His attitude seemed a bit unusually harsh to simply be rude.

She motioned the older girl beside her to move forward, holding up a platter that had a piece of bread with a small amount of salt beside it. A bit anemic, but it was tradition, and was certainly not the weirdest meal she'd eaten, either here or in Atlas. Guest right was one of the oaths so sacred, that not even the fiercest of enemies would dare to break it. Weiss grabbed the smallest piece of bread, carefully pressed it against the salt and ate it. Her teeth easily chomped the hard bread, which the salt hid the taste of.

"I thank you for your hospitality, Lady Harlton." With that, the brief ceremony was over, and the guest right was in place. She was safe, at least, from any real danger. Admittedly, not that she was in the first place, but the point was made.

"My uncle is Lord of Castlewood, I am not Lady Harlton just yet. Please, call me Lady Marianne." Lady Marianne's tight smile never disappeared from her face. Hm, if her uncle was the Lord of Castlewood, where was he? He should be out here, greeting the new arrivals. They certainly had made enough noise to draw anyone's attention.

"Very well, Lady Marianne, then you must also call me by my name." Weiss mirrored her approach. House Harlton must've been poor, judging by the state of Castlewood and the armor of their knights. She couldn't understand why, sure, it was a small area, but they were right on the river and didn't appear to have any neighbors to worry about.

"As you say, Lady Weiss." Lady Marianne bowed her head politely, which Weiss returned. The older girl on foot beside her held a small frown, but said nothing. Interesting. "We would be honored if you would join us for supper."

"The honor is mine, Lady Marianne, you are very kind." Weiss answered politely, her mask hiding her thoughts. Was this common courtesy, or something else? After all, if she had a good meal, maybe she would be inclined to offer a gift to the host? Like, say, some dragons to help renovate the keep? Or was she overthinking it, and she just wanted someone new to talk to after two weeks of Cedric and Pod's misadventures?

Still, it would be nice to have a warm meal.

Castlewood was a small keep, much smaller than the Gold Keep and the Golden Tooth. Admittedly, that wasn't saying much, there were smaller Atlasian airships than either of those places. Inside the damaged walls was a fat tower that was slightly taller than the walls, but only just. A small stable laid at the far end of the main gate, and what must've been a smithy, once upon a time, near the entrance. Weiss didn't get a chance to get a better look as she was whisked to her guest room just as the sky darkened, and torches and candles provided the only source of light in Castlewood.

After being led to the guest room, she changed out of her riding clothes into something more fitting for dinner. Her maids that weren't helping to set up camp, helped her into a white gown trimmed in red. Weiss sat in the dining room, where Lady Marianne sat at the head of the table. She had changed into a finer, newer green dress that had hints of silver in the heming. Weiss, as the guest of honor she supposed, sat to her right. From there, Cedric and Pod were seated to Weiss' left, while Ser Harold and the older girl sat across from them. Several roasted ducklings were brought out, along with hard bread and blackened sausages. A cheap wine was served as the drink, which tasted fine in Weiss' opinion, even if it wasn't her favorite.

"What brings you to the Riverlands, Lady Weiss?" Lady Marianne asked as she carefully sliced into a link of blackened sausage with a wicked looking dagger, the juices from the meat still sizzling softly as it drizzled her plate. Weiss picked at her food, chewing on a chunk of bread, before swallowing it, washing it with a sip of pepperwine.

"It is my first time outside the Westerlands, Lady Marianne. I wished to see the Riverlands before my return to Lannisport from Prince Joffrey's Tourney." Weiss left out the details about her detour at the disappointing Crossroad Inn. Then again, it was looking mighty comfortable in comparison to this keep. At least it wasn't falling apart at the seams.

Lady Marianne nodded politely. "The Riverlands are a sight to behold this time of year, though many would prefer to visit the Reach or Dorne in the summer." She couldn't imagine why anyone thought visiting a desert in the height of summer was appealing. That would've been like visitng Mantle in the dead of winter.

"I'm afraid Lannister's aren't welcome in Dorne, as fascinating as a visit would sound." Weiss was sure it would remind her of Vacuo, which she had visited a few times when she had been younger. Dorne likely wouldn't be as comfortable without air conditioning and that wasn't without even counting the local attitudes.

"I wonder why." The Girl that had offered Weiss the bread and salt said in a mumble, though she seemed to have picked the wrong moment as she spoke once the conversation had died down. Instead of the snide, under her breath comment, it was now out in the open for anyone to hear it.

"Jasmine." Lady Marianne said sharply with a matching glare. The older girl met her gaze with disinterested eyes. It was common knowledge across the realm that the Martells of Dorne held a grudge against Lord Tywin and King Robert, for the death of Princess Elia during the Sack of King's Landing at the end of Robert's Rebellion. Weiss had been a child then, with no memories of her past life.

"It's the truth, is it not, Lady Marianne." Jasmine answered, slicing into a piece of roasted duckling. Strange, most nobles wouldn't allow a servant girl to disrespect them in front of their guest, or share the same table and food. Something was off here, but she hadn't figured out what.

Marianne's glare never faltered, though it softened when she turned to Weiss. Evidently she was trying to run some damage control, posthaste. "I apologize for my sister's rudeness, Lady Weiss."

"There's no need to apologize, Lady Marianne." Weiss smiled. She turned her gaze to Lady Jasmine, who was eating her meal without a care in the world. "After all, it's impossible to change who we are and where we come from, isn't that correct, Lady Jasmine?"

She frowned in response to Weiss' words. "I'm no 'lady', Lady Weiss, but I suppose your words ring truly."

Weiss turned to Lady Marianne, who had a grimace on her rather plain face. "She's my late Father's daughter, his last wish before he perished during King Robert's War was to bring her into the household."

Ah, she was a bastard then, Jasmine Rivers and not Harlton. How bold of Lady Marianne, many nobles would find it offensive to share a meal with someone born out of wedlock. Weiss didn't care, who was she to judge someone due to the manner of their birth? Besides, at least this one was willing to speak her mind, unlike most of the nobility she usually hung out with.

"That's very kind of you, Lady Marianne." Weiss said simply as they returned to their meal, with a heavy awkwardness and tensioning hanging in the air. Cedric sliced into a small roasted piglet and ate it with Pod without saying a word.

Her two idiots knew better than to embarrass her at dinner.

A/N

Now I'm sure this chapter may confuse some of you, or seem useless, but never fear! It'll be important in the future.

Lore Sleuths will find that House Harlton is canon, though Castlewood had been relocated to better suit my needs. Jasmine Rivers is an OC that was donated by Mythic on Discord.

If you happen to run into me on any of the RWBY, GOT, ASOIAF servers on there, don't be afraid to say hi.