Disclaimer: I own neither the series nor charachters

Bare Bachelors Bar, Outskirts of the city of Vale, Kingdom of Vale

[Although there are still rumours on it's shady past, the Bare Bachelors Bar is today one of the most frequented and hottest bars in the Vale area, or at least according to the various framed newspaper articles that line the back wall of the bar. Today, however the Bar is closed with the only persons in the establishment being myself and the person across the bar. Melanie Malachite over the counter,wiping a glass with a white cloth. She wears a white dress shirt and light blue vest, a uniform common for bartenders. She and her sister, Miltia, are the co-owners of the establishment. She is also the seventh wife in the Arc Harem]

You know, the first thing Junior taught me about Bartending was that there were no free drinks. As a bartender, you're not just a guy, well, gal that hands out the drinks. You see, a bartender is made up of both bar and tender. The bartender is the bar which means people respect you and look up to you mainly cause you're the one who holds the key to getting smashed. The tender part means the bartender has to look after the drinks, the customers, and most importantly, the bar. Junior wasn't the smartest guy in the business nor the sharpest but he damn knew his way behind the counter. I'd be lying if I said I didn't miss him. The place just isn't the same without him.

[Records of Junior Xiong, the previous owner of the bar, state that he had died during the Grimm War.]

We never really told him how much we loved this place. I'd like to think he knew though which was why he put it in his will for my sister and I to inherit it. He already had all the documents and papers and everything, all legit. I didn't think he even knew where City Hall was located yet he was able to get all the papers signed without any shady stuff. I think he wanted us to be out of the underworld and I'll always be grateful for it.

[Finishing up her wiping of the glass, she puts it and the cloth away.]

So when he died, all Miltia and I had left were each other and an empty bar. With Junior gone, all of his family's boys went out and left. No one really sticked behind but I think that was for the best. You can't just skirt around the darkness, if you want to get out, you had to go full clean. So all that was left were two girls who only knew how to fight, good but not even huntress level, a dingy old bar, and a fistful of cash that wouldn't last them a week.

[She leans across the counter, arms folded beneath her.]

You know the worst part of being poor? It's not the hunger. It's not even the anxiety of not knowing the future. It's the idea of having nothing. It sucks, yeah, but it helps when you got a sister with you. We're actually orphans, you see. Our asshole of a dad ran off and left mom and huge debt. She worked to the bone to send us to school and pay off the debt till she died. Next thing, we knew we had to drop out of hunting school and start working as the bouncers for some bar. Either that, o sell our bodies. Obviously, we picked the first choice. Thats how we met Junior. Now that I think about it, I guess he paid off our debt as well. Even in death, huh? What a silly old bear.

[Melanie shakes her head but doesn't really look too disapproving She then looks up at me and smiles wistfully.]

I don't think I'll ever forget those first few months. We had absolutely no idea on what to do and had only a month to renovate the place form shady informant hang-out to a serviceable joint. Thankfully, all the chores Junior forced us to was pretty good training so I could handle the bar pretty well while Millie washed and cleaned up the place. I remember the night we reopened the bar as the BBB. Miltia was so excited. She had even made some flyers and handed them out in Vale. Hadn't seen her that lively since mom died. Back when we were younger, she'd love going out and talking while I was more withdrawn. When mom died, Miltia quieted up and I was acting up at the time. [She shrugs] Teenagers, right?

So back to that night. It was only the two of us at that time as no one had replied to our wanted flyers but we didn't care. We thought we could easily run a bar by ourselves. [She laughs.] It's pretty stupid yeah but we were excited, confident and full of moxie. Nowadays, I need at least two others to even man the bar. Was the first time I put this thing on while Miltia was wearing this trashy maid outfit to serve drinks. Although, if there's anything I won't ever forget, it would be the frustration and anger I felt when no one showed up. Not a single person popped up that day. Not one. I remember just standing here, trying my best not to cry. Miltia looked like she was about to throw some chairs. It was around five hours in with still no customers when he walked in.

By "he", do you mean Jaune Arc?

Like, duh! Let me finish. So then this blonde mop of hair walked in holding a flyer asking for a job. Apparently, my ditz of a sister had screwed up the flyers which also explained why no one came. The opening date was set the week after. It was so stupid we all had a good laugh. He got hired on the spot considering he was the only one to show up and that we were in a good mood.

What did you hire him for?

At the start, it was mainly heavy lifting. A box full of bottles of alcohol is actually pretty heavy when you stack around four of them. Us sisters could fight but that kind of back and forth lifting was not for us or our nails. He was also pretty bulky so sticking him in a leftover suit made him pass as a decent bouncer. Later on, we found out he could make some decent food so we stuck him back at the kitchen. His burgers are one of our best sellers. Before, you could only get it when it was his shift since it was a family recipe but since we're family now, Miltia and I could prepare it if needed.

[She reaches over and passes me a laminated menu. On the upper left, there is a picture of a juicy burger labelled "The Arcadian Burger".]

Yeah, those were the days. Me behind the bar, Jaune at the kitchen, and Miltia on the front couldn't get more fucked up than that. Thankfully, during the actual reopening, people did appear and, by the way more people came the next day, it was a success. We got more hires and soon we were actually running a business. That's pretty much the history of the bar till now but that's not what you're here for, right? You want to know about the Arc Pact, don't you?

Have you talked to my sister yet?

Not yet.

Well, then I'll leave the bigger details to her. She is the journalist, after all. You're one as well, right? You've probably heard of her.

I'm actually a writer but I've heard of her.

Yeah, Miltia's always been into newspapers. Used to make dresses of them, even. It didn't really bother me too much when she told me she wanted to try to get a degree in it. Better that at least one of use get an actual job, right, not that I hate the bar. I love it just as she loves her papers. But, even though we were doing pretty well, it's not like we had any money to pay for something like that. Compared to hunting schools, normal schools are much more expensive considering you're not going out to die. We just didn't have the money for it.

That's when you decided to join the pact?

It wasn't a bad deal. Marry Jaune and get a ton of cash. Jaune wasn't that bad a guy, good looking even. You could do way worse. The amount itself is insane. We were able to not just pay for all of Miltia's studies but have enough leftover to renovate the bar.

Was this the reason you joined the harem?

Ha! [She barks a laugh] So, it seems you really don't know anything. If that was the only reason, we'd have never gotten past the first screening. We barely got past the second considering it was the same day Goldilocks was on the panel. I still can't believe she's actually part of this whole nonsense.

Goldilocks?

Yang Xiao Long. She once broke up the bar and, now, whenever she pops up, she thinks she owns the place. Ugh. Well, whatever. Where was I?

The reason you joined the pact.

Right. Don't misunderstand. We're not a bunch of golddiggers. I'd by lying if I said the money wasn't a part of it but it's not like I dislike being with Jaune. He gives great leg massages, especially after a whole day of standing and serving drinks.

So there are personal feelings involved?

You know that love or whatever crap you hear in those songs that I have to play over the speakers? I don't really feel those things for Jaune. Stuff like soulmates or eternal bonds won't prevent a guy from leaving you. [Her fingers drum against the counter.] Jaune's...nice. He's normal. Untainted by the darkness. Sometimes a girl just wants normal after a ton of criminal bullshit. Besides, this is the best guy repellant a gal could ask for. [She flashes the ring on her left ring finger, a gold one with a pearl at its center.]

Is that how you really feel?

Yeah, why not? At most, I'd say I wouldn't mind going through with the second provision but that's just a thought, you know? I'm not saying I want a kid yet or anything but I wouldn't be against it. If you really want to ask someone who's really gaga over him, try my sister. She's got this habit of pulling back her hair when she likes a guy and she always does it around Jaune. I got a portfolio full of articles she's written on him.

And you're okay with that? Sharing your husband with your sister?

Actually, he's not mine. He's "ours"...or at least that's how we're supposed to talk when we speak of him. Anyways, if I could share a guy with some other women, why would I have a problem sharing him with Miltia? We're sisters. As for the others, I don't really mind them, cept for Goldilocks. A good amount are actually regulars here. There's a special booth just for the "family". I've memorized each of their favorite drinks, even though they may not know it's their favorite yet.

[Melanie reaches down and pulls out a wine bottle. With fluid and trained motions, she uncorks it and fills a glass.]

On the house. That's Weiss' favorite brand. We're actually pretty close and she called me up and told me to pour you a drink. Said she had forgotten to offer one during her turn.

I really musn't...

No, you really must. Weiss gets really pushy about these things. One of those weird rich people things. Well, much better than beng a homewrecker.

[She looks me in the eyes.]

Before we went clean, this place used to be an informant den for criminals. Obviously, we don't do that anymore but I still hear things. I also don't hear some thing as well. Things like crimes or gossip are things I "don't hear." and the one thing that I should never hear about is the Harem being spoken of. The pact should always be between us wives and shouldn't be revealed. I know your documents check out but I'm still curious on why and how you're doing this. Of course, the bar has a policy of leaving the drunk ones with their drinks...

...well, bottoms up then.

[Melanie Maltichide continues her days as the BBB'a owner with plans of expanding her business in development. She also plans to try signing up for a bartending school as "it'd be nice to actually have a degree as well, you know?"

AN: So a lot of problems with this chapter.

First was that the twins don't have a personality so writing them, especially a future version, is tough. Next is that this was actually divided into two parts. I took some parts away for Miltia'a chapter as having both at the same time was a pain. Finally, the main goals of this was to give a background for the twins then I realized I needed to add some harem parts so I did. Expect more on that in Miltia's.

I put a lot of thought into the twins' background, a lot of stuff like them having a mother and their past persobaliyies wee gotte from the story they were based on, Snow White and Rose Red. I think a lot of it worked out well...maybe.

Lastly, I put up a poll to see what I'll update next as some people are telling me to just update some stuff instead of writing oneshots. I know that I'm not big or popular enough for one but I would like some advice. Still have no idea on how to choose a beta though

Also, final plug. Go check out D'Arc Hotel by Spacker. New writers should be given support.

That's it. R&R and all that. Thanks for reading.