Precious, Finite, Resources

Life was a system of variables. Possibilities and little more. Humans were lucky. Faunus were unlucky. It was a harsh way to look at the world, sure, but as the weighted shackles cut into her wrists, and the collar around her neck stayed firmly in place, there was no other conclusion she could draw.

She was unlucky. Plain and simple.

Forcing her lips to part, she pressed her tongue on the fabric that silenced her, testing how loose it might be. There was no hope there, either. The silk material seemed rather clean. It was tied to be snug. There would be no way to jostle it off, but at least it didn't taste of soot. She noticed quickly that there was something strange on the fabric.

…some sort of symbol stitched there with heavy thread…

The unlucky Faunus in question set the matter aside. Her ears flattened back, accepting her fate for what it was. She was doomed, her people were doomed, and there was nothing she could do about it.

Oddly enough, in a small abandoned village only a few miles away, there was a privileged human also giving herself to the fates.

It seemed the right thing to do, allowing the magnitude of her plans to settle over her. As a blueblood, her path weighed her down heavily, like the burden that it was. Thankfully, she wasn't alone. She was accompanied by her most trusted female guard and best friend.

The small comfort did nothing to quiet her mind. This adventure was not one suited to pleasantries, and she felt the brunt of her realization overcome what little joy there was to take in the scenery around her. A once perfectly white carriage plodded along the wet grasslands of the sweltering tropics. Mud and foliage caked the sides, and the rain poured angrily around them.

It was nothing like the frozen and crystalized beauty of Atlas. Nothing like the comfort of home that she so fondly missed.

"I didn't anticipate so much rain during our travels." The woman of privileged means told her companion. "You didn't indicate that we would be caught in such sodden conditions."

"Would it have changed anything?" The other woman asked.

"No." The blueblood sighed.

"That's why I didn't say anything."

A set of blue eyes closed behind tired lids. "When I asked you to make the preparations, I expected perfection."

"It's the rainy season." Her companion returned tiredly. "I thought you knew."

"Be that as it may, you could have at least told me what to expect. It is a pressing concern, and you should have done your duty to inform me." She flicked her gaze to the padded bench across from her. "Seeing it now, the rumors must be simply that. Ruby, you could not have walked in this rain, let alone fought so many battles in it."

"We did." The remark came along with the lowering of a red hood, the woman crossing her arms and yawning in the most undignified manner possible. "We fought in the heat and in the rain. We didn't have a choice."

"The more I see of this place, the more I wonder what Atlas truly wants with it." The woman remarked darkly. "My father was a fool to claim Menagerie for his own, and my sister is a saint if she thinks something can be done with it now. If I were her, I would have abandoned the entire thought of it."

"Well, that's why we're going back to Atlas, right?" Ruby asked. "To speak to some of the captives?"

A long sigh slipped from pale lips. Ruby was many things, but a politician, she was not. "I'm afraid my motivations are more duplicitous than that. Ruby, it's best you don't try to question the matter, you'll only give yourself a headache."

"Weiss?" Ruby wasn't quite sure how to phrase her next question delicately, so she went for what suited her best. "I'm not going to have to kill anyone, am I?"

"Possibly."

Ruby rolled her eyes. "Damn it all to dust. Can you at least give me more than that?"

"Conflict may be inevitable."

"Oh, come on! That's not fair." Ruby pouted at the monotone response. "That's not even an answer at all..."

"No." Weiss replied quietly. "It most certainly isn't."

"How about this." Ruby said then. "How about I don't kill anyone, and we go find a nice tea house instead."

"Ruby, please settle yourself." Weiss told the younger woman with a sad lilt in her voice. Even thinking of spilling more blood bothered her, though she didn't often let her feelings on the matter show. "Vengeance isn't what I seek. If all goes according to plan, not a drop of Faunus blood will be spilled. However, it is not entirely within my control, I'm sure you understand."

"Just because I get it, doesn't mean I have to like it."

"Indeed." The privileged woman murmured. "I agree, wholeheartedly."

The concept of time was a lost cause in the jails that housed the surviving population of Menagerie. There were no clocks, no windows, and no way to tell the difference between a day, a week, a month, or even a year. Everything was an eternity measured in baited breath, mealtimes, and movement from one jail to another, like cattle to the slaughter.

A single door faced the hallway, but guards passed by so infrequently that even their visits were welcome stimuli. Faunus were plagued with clear sight, even in the dark. They saw every rat running along the pipes, every bug skittering in the cracks in the walls. They could see everything, some could even hear everything.

The sounds of choked back tears and the rattling of chains were Blake's unfortunate lullaby. Even in the cells, they wore their shackles. Treated more like deranged animals than people. To the humans holding them here, Faunus might as well have been monsters. They were treated with unflinching cruelty. They were beaten down, claws clipped to painfully short lengths.

When a shackled Faunus was taken away, they didn't come back.

Faunus that were too loud had been gagged. Blake Belladonna found herself to be one such woman, young an opinionated as she was. That same stupid silk that quieted her bit into the sides of her jaw. It was tied so tightly, and she could do nothing against it. Yet, even so, it was not the worst that could have been offered.

Anything was better than the burlap used to silence her comrades. In fact, her restraints seemed less daunting than the ones her peers donned. It the one kindness afforded to her, for reasons she couldn't possibly understand.

Her parents sitting beside her had suffered worse. Forcing a breath through her nose, she flicked her amber eyes to the man resting heavily on the wall, blood trickling from gashes that he had been dealt long before. Her eyes gentled in sympathy. Her father was a large man, powerful and strong, but in this moment he looked so utterly weak.

Then, a door creaked open, and they all looked up from their positions. If a guard was coming it had to be time to eat, and eating meant a few joyous moments without the gag on her face. Blake's heart raced in excitement. She heard the sounds of movement, footfalls and scuffling against the stone floor. A distant slamming of metal and the idle sounds of chatter.

The happy kind. Something about tea, and cookies, from a childlike voice.

The two female voices pricked at her ears. That was unexpected. It was different. It wasn't mealtime after all. Blake felt fear seeping into her blood like the damp air seeped into her bones. Curling inward as best as she could against her restraints, she leaned into her mother's side. Though if it was to try and protect the woman, or to be protected by her, Blake was unsure.

Finally, a man's voice spoke. "Princess, I must inquire, what is the nature of your visit?"

"You must do no such thing. What you must do is open that cell, and find me the one I want."

"Princess please, you're being difficult." The man sighed at length. "You are no longer a child, and it doesn't suit matters to-" He stopped speaking, but the Faunus couldn't figure out why.

"Do not make me ask you again." The woman replied with a nasty bite in her tone, chilly and venomous. "Furthermore, you know I absolutely abhor that title."

"As you wish, ma'am. If you'll follow me." The man spoke quietly. His voice stern, but soft. "We've kept them all here for the sake of security."

"I'd question that, truly I would." one woman seemed to scoff. "Why is it so dark down here?"

"Question anything you would like, the reality still stands." The man said. "I'm simply following orders. Therefore, it's dark because I was ordered to keep it so."

"I see. Was that the orders of my father, or the orders of my sister?"

"Orders." The man replied simply. "My loyalties are with the kingdom, as they should be. My actions reflect that." Then the walking slowed, and the man stopped. "It's this cell, here."

The two women stopped walking soon after. "Well, then what are you waiting for? Open the door."

Three shadows stopped at their cell, the bars providing the Faunus a slight glimpse at their visitors. Blake looked up, seeing the tall figure dressed in white. General James Ironwood, a man that might as well be legendary. In battle, he surely was.

"I'd advise you to be cautious." He warned again. "Those Faunus are known to be deadly."

"The women and men are housed together?" The affronted women asked, just out of sight from the small door. Blake couldn't see her, but noted the sound of outrage in her voice. Mild, but there all the same, the small note of disgust plain as day.

The general cleared his throat uncomfortably. "Your father ordered it."

"My father is dead, James."

"So he is." the man replied softly. "I still do not know why you are here."

"That isn't any of your concern. I thank you for your continued service to my family, and the oaths with which you upkeep each and every day. Even still, there are some matters that aren't within your rights to decide." She stepped forward then, her short stature and white features becoming clear in the dim light. "Open the cell, General Ironwood. I will not ask again."

The tall man looked as though he was about to speak again, but pressed his lips together in a thin line. Arguing with the ill-tempered princess wouldn't do him any good. Her tongue was like a spike, and her orders were absolute in the absence of her elder sister. "As you wish." He complied, fishing the key out of his pocket. "Do be careful, though."

The lock released, making a loud clang. The screeching of metal had all of the Faunus in the room pressing their ears to their heads, some of them groaning in protest to the noise. Blake could do none of it. Instead, she felt her blood run cold, seeing this young woman enter the cell for the first time.

Upon her white dress, embroidered in proud royal blue, a snowflake announced who she was before the woman could even say her own name.

"I am Weiss Schnee, the second born daughter of Jacques Schnee. The tyrant has fallen, slain by your new ruler, my elder sister, Winter Schnee." At this, she looked around, her nose wrinkling in dismay. "I have come to liberate you from your cell. Do as you are instructed. If you can manage that, you'll find yourselves in more suitable dwellings by nightfall."

"Wait, Weiss." Her fellow companion said as she stepped into the dank cell that smelled horrible. A mix of blood, sweat, urine, and death. "They could resist." Seeing the inside of the cell made the snack in her hand entirely unpalatable, and she tossed the cookie onto the floor.

Even with it laying there on the contaminated ground, some of the Faunus were too hungry to care and reached for it before fast reflexes stopped the frail hands cold. The hooded figure set her foot over the cookie, eyeing those starving men with pity. "Don't eat that one. There's more where that came from."

"I doubt they're strong enough to resist in this state." Weiss replied coolly. "Still, I would be inclined to agree. Refrain from eating food that's been contaminated by your own squalor."

"They've been in here since Menagerie fell." Ruby said, pulling the tin she kept concealed in her cloak, opening it, and providing one single cookie to the starving man. "It's been two years since then. I don't even think they know what it's like to be outside anymore."

"It has been that long, hasn't it?" Weiss noted with a sad tilt of her chin. She looked to her Faunus captives. "Let me be clear. You will be treated with fairness, but the men and women in servitude to Atlas come first. If they must, they will have permission to use lethal force. Do not test this."

The red hooded girl did the unthinkable, she reached out and touched the princess. A hand outstretched and placed upon the intimidating woman's shoulder. "Woah, you didn't have to be so mean about it."

"Make up your bloody mind!" Weiss looked to her companion then, ire dancing in her eyes. "That one, there, with the family crest." She pointed at Blake. "She's the one. Prepare her for travel, she'll be coming with us."

Blake was hardly even out of the cell before she was stripped naked, doused with several buckets of cold water, and inspected for vermin. She wasn't even offered a towel to dry as she was marched off. The short young woman with messy brown hair began yelling at the guards to treat every Faunus with care, but, it was obvious they weren't paying close enough attention.

It didn't matter. Either way, Blake was sure she was doomed.

The first time Blake had been separated from her parents, she had only been a little girl. Her exact age, she couldn't quite recall. No, it had been the foggy events that lingered in her mind's eye. She remembered struggling against strong arms holding her back. She didn't know it then, but it had been for her own protection.

She recalled her mother screaming at her, ordering her to listen to her keeper. Her father demanding her to be a good girl as he rushed off into battle. She had been terrified, but her fear went unwarranted. They had only been separated for a short time. Only a few weeks, and her parents returned. The joy she felt at seeing her parents again had soothed every dark fear she had.

It was a simpler time back then.

A time she could never go back to.

No, instead she was stuck here, with this chatty young female attendant.

"So, if I've listened to Weiss the way I should, you're Blake Belladonna." The young woman clad in her cape spoke as they walked along the narrow hallway. "That's you, right?"

Blake chose not to answer, not to even speak. A tiny nod of her head was all she offered, and she almost wished she had the fabric over her mouth again to prevent her from speaking at all.

"I'm Ruby Rose, maybe you've heard of me?"

Indeed, every Faunus around knew Ruby Rose. She was a girl that might as well been a fable. The story of the two reapers to cut across the battles of Menagerie spread far and wide during the war. One was known to be more merciful and soft spoken, the other had a reputation for being a perverted lush. Why the young woman would be visiting a place like this, Blake hadn't the slightest clue.

If Blake had to guess, it wasn't going to be pretty.

"I've heard of you." Blake said softly, her voice harsh against her words. It hurt to talk, she didn't do it very often, not anymore. "You murdered an entire Faunus village in one night."

"The Grimm did that, not me." Ruby said softly. "I've never killed anybody in cold blood, not ever."

"You stood in pools of Faunus blood as it soaked into the ground." Blake retorted, voice rasping against the accusation. "You might as well have killed them."

"Is that really what you think?" The girl asked.

Blake could hardly bring herself to look at her. "You don't want to know what I think."

"Actually, Blake, I do."

The face of a child, eyes like steel, a collapsible scythe able to rend flesh and bone. There were horror stories of this girl. Ones that spoke of her riding into battle, taking all in her path and leaving them behind as only memories. Blake had laughed them off time and time again, but faced with the gaze aimed at her, she felt a stiffness in her shoulders.

There was no way this girl could be one of the two famed reapers, but, then again, so few people carried the features this girl did. Merciful or not, her tales of combat spread far and wide. Her kills were said to be swift, deadly. So fast her prey would never see it coming. Her targets never even had time for pain.

Age and hardship had jaded Blake.

Logic sharpened her views distinctly with the reek of anger and hate. There was a malignancy in her now, trust in the future held nothing. Faith was little more than a desperate plea that would never be answered. Over the years she had watched people get taken away, only to never return.

Blake was sure that she was about to face her own end. Whatever that happened to be, she expected it to be as swift as the stories told by drunken warriors. Her mother would likely be taken next. Then, lastly, her father, the defeated Chieftain of Menagerie himself. Their deaths would make a statement, Faunus blood spilled for the show of ultimate power.

Proof that humans were the superior race among the peoples.

"Hmm. You want to know what I think…" Blake murmured with disdain. There was only one reason she could think of. When they came to the final set of double doors, she was almost sure of it. "I think you're here to kill me."

A queen scowled from atop her throne. She was said to be the most reasonable of the three siblings, but as the eldest, she had a vested interest in looking after her family. There were very few things on the face of the planet that could infuriate her. When her sister went wandering off on her own, it topped the list.

Winter felt a migraine coming, one only her younger sibling's antics could produce. "This is a farce, Qrow. She didn't. She couldn't have."

"Couldn't, or wouldn't?" He asked as he slumped against a nearby pillar, toying with a fine goblet that he had no business holding. "Shouldn't maybe, but she did, like it or not."

"She wouldn't dare even dream of it…" Winter said before hesitating. "Wait. Would she? No. Of course not. Why am I even thinking that? Better yet, why are you goading me into thinking that?!"

"Don't piss all over the messenger." The man groused. "I'm not goading you. I'm just giving you a matter of perspective."

"A matter in which I didn't have the slightest inkling to ask you about." The irate queen pointed out. "Not even in the slightest. Yet, with a few simple words, you bring into question everything."

At this, the man chuckled darkly. "You pay me to keep your family safe."

"I pay you to lend me your seed, not to fill my head with your paranoid delusions." She stood from her chair and paced. "Where is Yang when I need her?"

"Out." The man smirked.

"Answer my question!"

The queen glared at him, more insults than she knew what to do with filled her head, but none of them seemed fitting for the man in front of her. No, he was a man who could not be insulted by even her best efforts. After all, his very life was an insult. Qrow walked a fine line, he always had, ever since she had the wondrous displeasure of meeting him.

Before then, Winter Schnee never knew how much someone could flirt with the very meaning of death.

Qrow wasn't at all intimated by the woman in front of him. "Do I look like her keeper?" Queen or not, he had more pressing matters to think of. His mind occupied on where to locate his next mind numbing drink. "If you want her, just bitch loud enough, she'll come running. Always does."

"You are an absolutely insufferable letch!" Winter seethed, finger outstretched. "If you weren't Yang's uncle, I'd have you beheaded."

"I am her uncle." Qrow smirked. "More importantly, I'm your only ticket to ensuring that your future kid will carry Branwen genetics, unless of course you'd like to ask Tai for his. Xiao Long are just as good. I'm sure Yang would just love to hear that she'll be raising another sister."

"You are a sick, twisted, miserable man." Winter sighed. "I have no idea what in the world my father saw in hiring such a demented drunkard such as yourself."

"I dunno, but I'm doing your dirty work now." At this he smirked. "In more ways than one, if the council has their way. Now, that's what I'd call a farce."

"If only you'd drop dead." She spat as she turned on her heel and began to pace. "Then all of this bloodline and linage nonsenses would be done for once and for all."

"Plenty of other men with seed." He grinned. "Technically the council only cares about you."

"Will you shut up?!" Winter seethed, sucking a breath through her teeth, least she strangle the man in front of her. "More to the point, you don't even understand the gravity of this situation, do you? What if something were to happen to Weiss? She isn't the fighter that I am."

"She's got Ruby with her. She'll be fine."

"When I told Weiss to find someone suitable for betrothal, I was implying someone of noble birth. At the very least, I expected someone of great renown. Someone with talent worthy of notice." Winter paused again. "Yet, you tell me she's gone in search of a Faunus. I can't even begin to fathom why."

The man shrugged at this, he could only guess at the reasons, and even then, he didn't care to guess too deeply. "Probably because you've put her in charge of keeping Menagerie secure."

"What else was I to do?" Winter refuted. "I couldn't entrust the tropics to Whitley. He doesn't understand the first thing about running a kingdom. He's a noble with no sense about him, floundering under the selfsame grandeur that our father doused him with."

"So you gave it to Weiss, knowing she was doomed to failure." Qrow replied with acid.

"You misunderstand entirely. Weiss is a driven young woman, and she is of the perfect age to wed. I was sure she would find a nice young man, settle down, and actually do something with the territory." At this she swallowed back the implication. "She an intellectual, too, let's not forget. Her qualities made her suitable. Since we have the territory, we might as well use it."

"She has no more interest in men than you do." Qrow laughed, shoving himself into a standing position and meandering to where the new queen stood. "You know it, plain as day. Why did you assume she'd find a man?"

"I didn't." She told him, more disappointed in herself than she cared to admit. "There are plenty of women in power within our fold, with similar interests. Presumptuously, I thought at the very least, she would choose Ruby."

"Yeah, well, that's probably why this whole adventure of hers is your fault." Qrow muttered, the goblet was now empty, so he sat down on the marbled stairs, allowing his hand to rest on the royal blue carpeting. "No doubt, she told Weiss all kinds of things about her travels. Tell a person too much, it makes them want to wander off."

Winter could only shake her head. "Well then, she had better wander back home immediately. Go find them, Qrow, and do it now."

"Can't leave. Council will have my head."

At this Winter drew her sword, which she insisted to keep at all times, even against the suggestions of her personal advisors. "Your head or your manhood, Qrow. Only one will kill you. Choose wisely."

There was a time not long ago when he would have drawn his own weapon on her. They would have had what he might consider friendly exchange of personal sentiment. Having a duel, leaving only minor destruction in the aftermath. Doing that now only promised death, and so he kept his weapon in his place and instead slowly meandered off, in no real hurry to locate anybody.

His goal was the local pub, and nothing more.

Blake was sure she was going to face her death.

The Faunus sighed heavily, her own lashings stung across her back. She had been beaten in this jail several times since her family had been captured. Maybe that's why Ruby was here. Death would be mercy, and who better to grant it than the famed merciful reaper.

Blake was too weak to struggle, to hurt to fight back, and let herself simply be dragged to the room she was now waiting in. It was brighter than the cell, cleaner, but she was still trapped. There was no way to escape, and this girl, though smaller than her in size, was obviously a warrior, strong and true.

Ruby Rose was also a chatty little thing, if Blake's observation was anything to go by.

"Did you know that several decades ago, Atlas was considered to be a difficult place to live? Most of it was covered in snow all year round. You can't call places like that home." The young dealer of death babbled. "The southernmost tip of Atlas has tundra, fjords, and fellfields, but those places also have wild monsters. Have you ever seen large, black and red monsters like that? Do you know what they are?"

Blake nodded, unsure why she had been lead to a room with actual furnishings. A clean bed, a table, and a proper chamber pot. There was even a wash bowl. These were things that even away from the industrializing cities were considered luxuries in this jail. Blake hadn't seen anything like it in two long years. "I have seen a Grimm before." Blake murmured distractedly. "Those creatures."

"Well, that's my job."

"Grimm." Blake deadpanned.

"Yeah, I stop them from terrorizing places, that's what I do." Ruby told her, gesturing to the weapon resting propped up in the corner. "I slay Grimm." She walked over to the satchel she had waiting in the corner. "Here, this is yours."

"I didn't bring any belongings here." Blake said, though she took the clothing gratefully. "Besides, even if I did…" Blake jiggled her wrists, the chains ringing their saddening tune.

"I'll let you out of those." Ruby told her. "But you have to stay, and you have to listen to what I tell you."

"I know better than to try and escape this facility naked." She replied, ears flattening back. One too many bad memories reminded her of just how terrible an idea that was. Desperate attempts would be met with failure, plain and simple.

Ruby nodded, and began to remove the shackles on her wrists and ankles, leaving the collar alone. Only the royal family had that key, and Ruby forgot to get it from Weiss, though she doubted the princess would have given it to her.

"My uncle told me about the wars. The ones that happened before you and I were born, I mean." Ruby began, respectfully turning to the side, only half an eye on the Faunus. "Atlas had troops with skill, able to fight the conditions and adversaries alike. They cut through the smaller territories without even flinching at the carnage."

"They did." Blake sighed, unsure of where this was going, but she didn't want to annoy the obviously armed girl. Instead she dressed with the shirt and trousers afforded to her, finding them awkward and baggy. Men's clothing, and a size too big. "I'm well aware of the history. Why are these so large?"

"Well, because they belong to my uncle. I didn't know your size, so, you know, bigger is better and all that." Ruby shrugged, setting aside a bladder of drinking water resting in the bag. Then she partook two slices of bread. "Good thing too, you would have never fit into my clothes."

"At least they're clean and dry." Blake murmured, afraid to show weakness, or how she almost purred at the feel of clean fabric against her skin. She forgot the joys of such simple comforts.

Ruby nodded as she took one of the slices of bread for herself, handing the other to the woman in front of her. "Anyway, my uncle said that some of the territory was the collection of islands and the peninsula uninhabited by humans. Based on that, I just have a few questions."

"I don't think I want to listen anymore, or answer any questions, either."

Ruby thought about that for only a moment, and then continued on anyway. "From what I understand, Menagerie was a Faunus hub only. Eight of the surrounding islands were protected by a barrier reef, safe from the Grimm that plagued the waters and the skies."

"I know!" Blake shouted. "It was my people! My home!" She shook her head. "You tore it down."

Ruby stood quietly in the face of the rage that resonated off of the Faunus. "I know." She said softly, she had her own sins to atone for too, of course. Even she had witnessed a few battles marking the end of the war. "Humans tore down your home, but the tearing it down part, that was an accident."

"You don't understand." Blake growled. "Atlas took my home and completely destroyed it."

"That was never the end goal. They didn't want to see it burn to the ground. Atlas wanted it for themselves." Ruby told her. "It's still wrong to take homes away from people, I agree with that. They wanted the land for themselves though, to live there. Now, no one can live on most of it."

"Humans are to blame. It's your magic that causes fire that you can't control. Your magic that caused ice to sweep over everything. Your magic!" Blake became quiet once more. "Not ours…"

"Well, you're only half right. It's not magic, it's dust."

"Does it matter what it is?" Blake snarled. "My home is gone! Everything's gone thanks to it. You do demon's work!"

"Demons, huh? Maybe we are demons." Ruby said thoughtfully. "If we are though, Faunus are too. Why else would a Grimm, become a Grimm?"

Most humans viewed Faunus with distain, but Weiss aimed to change that.

She knew nothing about island life, and though she had picked up several tomes on the subject, she was still no closer to understanding her way around the tropical location. It was in her care now, entrusted to her by her sister. The land was hers by rights, to do with it as she wished.

It was true that most of Menagerie sat buried under several inches of soot. There was still so much that went unknown about dust. Powdered minerals made up the substance, but the properties were still a mystery. It was something to be observed, and her father's army was wrong to use such a powerful and mysterious substance so eagerly.

Even if most of the land could never be used again, she still had an island to oversee. She knew nothing about herbal medicines or the terrain. It was with this in mind that she decided to seek out Blake Belladonna.

Her sister had told her to find a proper suitor, and to do it quickly. What better a suitor was there to choose? The chieftain's daughter would be perfect. Weiss couldn't think of a better candidate. Still, that meant that Blake would have to agree to be married to a Schnee, and Weiss doubted convincing her of that would be easy.

When she arrived at room holding the Faunus captive, she found Ruby standing guard outside the door. Weiss couldn't risk the Faunus escaping, or letting the situation to slip away from her. Thankfully, Ruby was dependable, even if she was too kind for her own good. The cloaked girl was slouched, weapon in hand, looking bored out of her mind. Naturally, that too, was to be expected.

"Well?" Weiss asked expectantly. "Is everything according to plan?"

"Huh? Oh. Oh!" Ruby shuffled herself to attention. "Sorry about that. It's lonely around here just standing around in the hallway."

"That wasn't my question." Weiss mumbled, more to herself than the peppy girl in front of her. "Have you properly prepared for my visit?"

"Well, she's got clothes on." Ruby shrugged. "I don't know what you planned to do with her, so I didn't really do much."

Weiss gave Ruby a stern gaze. As a princess, she was in her every right to reprimand Ruby for failing to deal with particular tasks. However, she kept Ruby at her side as a friend, not merely an attendant and bodyguard. In fact, truth be told, Ruby was the worst handmaiden Weiss had ever come across. The woman was a traveling huntress at heart, not a servant, and Weiss struggled to always keep that in mind.

"You haven't bathed her, groomed her, or even informed her formally of why I want her, have you?"

"Uh, no?" Ruby flinched. "I mean, you absolutely hate it whenever I try to bathe you."

"That's because I would rather do for myself, Ruby." Weiss said firmly. "Either way, I would have thought you'd chatter her ears off."

"Well, I was trying to be friendly, but I think I might have messed that up." Ruby said guiltily, and Weiss could tell by her tone that she meant it. Ruby said something she truly shouldn't have. There was only one topic that came to mind.

"Ruby, listen, as a mercenary, you've been trained to see the world much more clearly than others. Most people, Faunus and human alike are not so enlightened. They were not raised to be. Not like you are." At this, she smoothed out the folds in her friend's cloak. "You need to see your position for what it is."

"I just wanted her to understand…"

"I'm sure she does, Ruby." Weiss replied darkly. "She understands exactly what happened in front of her own two eyes. That final skirmish…" Weiss trailed off. She hadn't been there herself, but she had listened to the stories. She knew what the rumors said.

"I know." Ruby murmured. "I was there, remember?"

"You shouldn't have been." Weiss replied. "Huntress in training or not, you shouldn't have followed your uncle into battle."

Ruby shrugged. "Yang went."

"Yang is famed for imbecilic thoughts and actions." Weiss replied. "I fully expected her to go charging headlong into the fray. It's what she does. You should have stayed with me at the palace and waited, as you were ordered."

"I had to go." Ruby argued. "You know I did."

"Just as you know why I have to get Blake Belladonna to agree to marry me." Weiss nodded. "I want that woman to be as complaint as possible with Atlas. It'll do everyone a great deal of good. I don't expect much, but if I can just get her to agree to tolerate me, that will be enough."

When Atlas mounted the attacks on Menagerie, they started a war that would last decades. No one knew then that the war would have such longstanding, volatile repercussions. That even two years after it was over, the echoes would be devastating. Weiss needed Blake to understand the position Atlas was in.

She needed to convince the Faunus woman that being married was a good idea.

For the first day she tried being pleasant. The second, she had tried being conversational on worldly topics. On the third, she had even began yelling. Each day, Blake met her with silent defiance. A refusal to even look at Weiss, let alone listen. Blake's downcast eyes weren't reverence, they were rage.

Bloodlust danced behind her molten amber gaze.

Weiss began a new tactic. She began laying down photographs of Menagerie's devastation in careful order. It was a ruthless thing to do, but she was at the end of her rope. She had tried everything to get Blake to agree, and this was the final straw. "Dust is a funny substance. We trifle with it, but, all of it comes from the ground in Remnant. It's part of the ecosystem, and so it does allow for new life."

Sprouts were poking up from the ash. They were easily crushed underfoot, so Weiss had ordered no one to walk on the recovering landscape. Blake saw the photos with her own eyes, but that meant nothing. The pictures could have come from anywhere.

"I thought you might continue to ignore me." Weiss replied. "However, you don't really have a choice in the matter. You will eventually have to agree to my terms."

Blake flicked her gaze to Weiss. Her fingers tapped idly on the table. Her claws hadn't been clipped in almost a week. She debated her chance, her few options were a delicate matter. She still said nothing. The slightest word might give away her thoughts, and murder was high on the list. She couldn't risk a single sound outside of her annoyed tapping.

"I don't condone my father's actions. Winter and I are hardly in the position to reverse everything he did during his time in power." At this she sighed. "Atlas might stand as one of the strongest world powers, but even we cannot simply change our political position on every little thing."

Blake's tapping stopped and she leaned forward in her chair. "I will not be your concubine!"

"Wife." Weiss corrected.

"You can't expect me to believe that." Blake growled. "A Schnee would ever take a Faunus as their mate."

Weiss mentally bristled at the term. It was animalistic and uncivilized. "I would indeed take a Faunus as my spouse, if she were to be of the proper bloodline, which you are."

"Not interested."

"I don't care." Weiss stated. "Your people, however, they might. Atlas keeps Faunus slavery alive and well. I feel as though it will remain that way until drastic measures are taken."

Blake frowned deeply at this and averted her gaze again. Her tapping resumed, albeit at a slower pace.

"You do want what's best for your people, don't you?" Weiss asked. "I can release Faunus from prisons, but the people of Atlas hold the power. Faunus have no protection. Atlas is a large kingdom. A revolt could arise, and like it or not, Winter cannot risk that. I refuse to risk her life, either."

"She's the queen, she refuses to do anything."

"Her position is new. Fragile, and under scrutiny. Rulers have been slain for less." Weiss replied. "Outlawing Faunus trafficking and slavery outright would be a stretch for even a beloved ruler. Winter stands no chance to hold power."

"I refuse." Blake glared. "I will not be your wife, bride, spouse, or whatever you humans call yourselves."

"Do you now? Are you truly so self-serving, that you can't bring yourself to care about the far reaching ramifications?" Weiss bristled, there was a sound coming out of Blake's throat, and it sounded distinctly like a growl. One quite unlike the others she had heard in her dealings with the woman. This was much more feral. "I implore you to listen to reason."

"No!"

"As I've said, you don't have a choice." Weiss told her. "Thousands of Faunus are reliant on your compliance. Failure to do so subjects them to harm beyond a scale that I can reasonably measure."

"I would sooner die than bed a Schnee."

"Your death would easily mean theirs."

"You promised them freedom."

"I promised fairness for compliance." Weiss said simply.

"What good would it possibly do?" Blake shot back. "As you said, you won't simply outlaw the slavery of Faunus."

"Atlas is a kingdom of protocol and recourse. You must be a barbarian if you can't understand that."

"I'm still calling it into question, like it or not." Blake said. "I'm not a barbarian. I don't go seeking after what isn't mine to begin with."

"Openly selling Faunus while one is wedded to me?" Weiss laughed darkly. "Oh, now that would be an insult. A grave one at that. No one is that foolish."

"You don't have the power to promise otherwise."

"You're right, I don't." Weiss sighed. "However, they would no longer sell Faunus on street corners like cattle. Doing so would make them lesser in the eyes of their rulers. It wouldn't be out of the goodness in their hearts. Greed is the motivator, and I won't begin to defend that. Whatever the cause, it would be a step in the right direction."

"What do you stand to gain from this?" Blake said with her eyebrow arched. "It must be something."

"Several things. Each are directly important to me." Weiss said earnestly. "Since you are not an Atlas native, you wouldn't understand the benefits. However, there is one thing that you do understand perfectly, Faunus have no safe place to live. Ironically enough, I've been gifted the one thing you'd like most of all; your homeland, Menagerie."

"Weiss is plotting something, and I fear it may be too late to stop her. I do not like this. Perhaps she couldn't handle such a large responsibility." Winter protested as she paced the same trail from one end of the room to the other. "There has been no word from Qrow at all."

"Babe, you're going to fray the carpet."

"I will do no such thing." Winter replied giving her lover one of her signature scowls. Her frown was deep, her usual poise and beauty darkly hued in her rage. "How is it that you can be so calm? Your own sister also gallivants around, swinging that scythe of hers no doubt."

"Because she has it in the first place?" Yang asked rhetorically, eyebrow raised as she turned into her side, the crisp white sheet felling from her naked body, exposing her glorious form. "I'm more worried about you. If you keep pacing like that, you'll get old fast."

"I am old." Winter sighed.

"Bullshit." Yang said, drawing herself into a sitting position and lugging herself away from the warmth of her bed. Her thumb lifted to the middle of Winter's brow, rubbing away the lines that indicated her fury so perfectly. "She's fine, so chill."

"You are among the most uncouth people on the face of this planet." Winter said with a roll of her eyes, still unsure as to why she was so smitten with Yang in the first place. "I miss the days when you held your tongue."

"Sure you do." Yang said with the tiniest of smirks, knowing better. "I could loosen it, you know. Maybe, loosen you while I'm at it?"

It was true that the warrior was a prize to be had for her body alone, and it was also true that her skill in battle carried great distances. However, Yang's personality was boorish and clunky, evidence of her time in service to the military. Yang was not the elegant and refined warrior that her station demanded her to be. Since their marriage two years ago, she had somehow become even more like her uncle. It was a terrifying realization made worse by the fact that Yang didn't seem to care.

"I refuse to speak of such matters outside of bed, you know this, Yang."

"Well maybe if you put your tight little ass in the bed, we could actually get somewhere." The blonde said, one hand flailing in the intended direction.

At this Winter felt her blood boil. Her hand raised and outstretched, pausing mid-strike. A harsh breath ebbed into a sigh, and her hand fell back to her side. "I can't possibly sleep at a time like this."

"Who in the hell said anything about sleeping." Yang deadpanned softly, her voice clueless for all the right reasons. "Winter, I've been cooped up in meetings with grumpy old farts for days. Come on, I'm chomping at the bit here."

"I'd dare ask about what, but I have a terrible feeling I already know."

"If you know, then I don't have to say it." Yang told Winter quietly, her voice taking on a mellow tone. She hoped it would be soothing, if nothing else. "Your dad was an ass, and he left you his entire life's mess to clean up. I know that better than anyone, but, if we don't keep the spark alive between us, then what's the point?"

"You know perfectly well the point."

"The advisors are looking for every reason to prove how worthless I am to the people of Atlas." Yang told her with a shrug. "When it comes down to it, maybe I am worthless to them, but I don't care about that. I can't stand the idea that I'm being worthless to you, though."

"You aren't worthless to me, Yang." Winter replied unevenly.

"I kind of fell like I am."

"You aren't!"

"Then trust me. Don't worry about Weiss so much and come to bed." Yang trailed off. Seeing her wife so upset was an unnatural thing to witness. Winter liked control, and usually commanded it flawlessly. "I promise that she will be fine."

Winter seemed to mull over the information gifted to her one last time. If it was true that Weiss had gone in search of Blake Belladonna, Atlas would be poorly prepared for the ramifications. More troubling, Winter had never come into contact with the bestial creatures herself. "The Faunus, Yang, what are they like?"

"Faunus?" Yang scratched the back of her head and sat back down on the bed. "I don't follow."

"You battled the monsters firsthand. You have to know something."

"Well, I know they're not monsters." Yang corrected softly. "They're not like the Grimm."

"They're rumored to look and sound like animals." Winter shot back, trying to ignore the way Yang's gaze burned into her. The blonde was eyeing the way she disrobed with hunger. "Are those rumors false?"

"A little." Yang smirked at the question. "There's some truth, but that's the case with most rumors. Faunus look mostly human, at least from what I've seen."

"Is that all you care to say?"

"Well, they walk around half naked. It's hot on Menagerie."

The icy woman gave Yang a sidelong look. One that was not quite vexed, and not quite amused. It teetered dangerously on a fine line between the two vastly different emotions. "Only you would think to say that."

If Winter had her way, she would have upended the entirety of Atlas. Still, she was a wiser soul than her predecessor. She knew better than to start conflict with each slight upturn of her nose. It didn't quell the desire for answers though, Yang knew that well.

"I don't know them as a people any more than you do. I do know that Faunus are strong, and mostly, they seemed to fight with honor." Yang told Winter. "I respect that."

"Then I suppose I have no choice but to do the same." Winter decided, choosing to retire for the night. It was for Yang's sake, and only Yang's sake.

She could have insisted on waking every spy, huntsman, and vagabond in the city. Yet she refrained instead. Forgoing donning a nighttime gown, as she had done in the past, she crossed the room to the bed, flinging back the sheets, sitting upon them nude.

Perhaps it was the cold climate, or the stringent upbringing of her people, but even lovers dressed for sleep. Yang was not an Atlas born woman, and she was the furthest thing from a blueblood Winter could have selected as a lover. The Vale native had been a gift of peace to the late king. Yang had been one of the most deadly adversaries Atlas had ever encountered, and one of the most skilled warriors.

Yang Xaio Long was only one of many fine warriors to have been traded to Atlas, standing as living promises between several warring kingdoms that bloodshed would no longer occur. Blood spilling might mean murdering a once beloved hero, and among all of them, such atrocities could not, would not stand.

Winter wasn't sure when her fascination with Yang began, or when it turned to infatuation, but she knew exactly the moment it became something more. Recalled perfectly, the time she saw Yang's true complexity for what it was. It was a strange feeling then, and it was a strange feeling now. Her customs were strange, her desires more so. Yang was ever the enigma in spite of her continual honesty and loyalty. Winter had never crossed paths with a woman quite like Yang in her life, and that was reason enough to cherish her.

Blake could see freedom in front of her, but couldn't yet grasp it.

She couldn't remember the last time she felt the warm sunlight kissing her skin, breeze in her hair, and scent of fresh air. She had wanted it for so long, that even the small taste seemed like heaven, as she stuck her head through the open window allotted in the new room she had been escorted to. This one even better than the last. This room, also fully furnished, kept finer sheets, more luxurious seating, the table stocked with food, and a keg of wine.

"You could live like this every day, you know." Weiss told her from her position on the bed, lounging across it as her finger toyed with the silk sheets. "Better than this, even, if you could be trusted without a shackle keeping you tethered."

"I'm not insane enough to run away from here." Blake said, eyeing the big open space. "I'd never survive."

"No, you wouldn't." Weiss agreed. "Nightfall would come, if the cold didn't get to you, the Grimm would. Failing that, food is hard to come by, shelter too." Weiss looked down at her perfectly manicured nails. "You wouldn't stand a chance. The nearest city is four days away on foot."

"At least if I ran, I wouldn't give you the satisfaction of keeping me here." Blake said darkly, her ears flicking thoughtfully against the breeze wafting in. "Maybe that alone is worth it."

"You do want to see your parents again, don't you?" Weiss asked, plucking a green grape from the fruit bowl, and placing it into her mouth.

"Not if you're just going to hang them." Blake said, causing the white haired woman to pause her chewing.

Forcing herself to swallow the now smooshed fruit as it lingered unpleasantly in her mouth, Weiss sighed. At first she said nothing to this, licking her lips as she looked down at the wood grain on the end table. It was finely crafted, like all things in her life, both tangible and intangible. It didn't seem to matter, everything had to be perfect. It was all she knew. Even the insults slung her way, seemed to be the perfect slices to her already fracturing ego.

"Is that all I am to you? A long list of sins given to me by my father before me? Is that truly the only destiny a Schnee can achieve?" She laughed bitterly. "I refuse to believe that. I've refused it my whole god forsaken life, and I refuse to believe it now." She thought on that continually sour concept, toying with another grape. Eventually, she ate that grape too, crushing it between her teeth. "Yet, I suppose that doesn't matter, does it?"

At that, seeming to come to her own conclusion on the matter, she pulled a set of keys from her pocket, tossing them across the room and onto the floor by the woman's feet. "If you would like to run to your death, so be it. You only have two options here. Show me the mongrel you truly are, or the leader you were born to be."

AYangThang: This is only meant to be a three chapter story, the total number of words totals roughly 30k, and it's something I wrote to help me mentally purge the fog from my head during writers blocks. It is complete, and you will receive chapter 2 in the first week of October, and chapter 3 in the first week of November.