Weiss thrust her rapier. It pierced the limp training dummy, making it's body momentarily jolt. For a moment, Weiss imagined it to be a man, maybe even her father, but that thought didn't last very long. She pulled the rapier out, calming herself down. Once it was removed, a hole just like the one she produced, joined countless others on the chest of the dummy.

This had been going on for hours, and Weiss was becoming tired. An argument between her and her father sparked this long overdue training session. School was going to start it's second semester, which meant that she became more busy as the days progressed. Being busy meant less for hobbies, such as this. While it wasn't very condoned, Jacques still allowed her to do it. Rules came with it, as always, but the biggest being, "it shall not be practiced inside the manor, it is to stay strictly an outdoor activity." So Weiss did as her father asked, and practiced wherever she could that avoided staff and family. The most recent training location being right behind the manor.

The dummy gave her a blank stare as she sheathed her rapier. To this day, she never knew quite way they had an expression, or a face at all. But they did, each and every one, and whenever these temper induced sessions were over, it made Weiss feel almost guilty. She looked away to avoid seeing it's face any longer.

Weiss stepped away from the dummy and into the garden nearby, which was farther away from the manor than any other piece of additional property. Her mother wouldn't be out there in this weather. Weiss had also made a request for no guards while she was there.

It was private property. Her father made sure that no one would be able to step foot onto their grounds without legal troubles or a bullet to the head. Weiss wasn't too worried, she could handle herself more than any of the security stationed at the manor. There were one or two instances every other year that someone would try to break in or get on the property, all which ended similar. Weiss cringed at the thought of what happened to those men.

Rustling drew her attention away from the flowers and into the woods that surrounded the manor. Weiss was off of the bench, rapier in hand, before she had time to think about the possible threat. Wild animals were uncommon this close to people, the most she'd see would be the occasional fox.

Each step closer to the trees, the tighter her grip on Myretenaster. She was approaching a tree with cautious steps. If this was any other day, she'd be in the manor talking about the disturbance to the nearest guard. But today she was fed up with the constant monitoring, lack of privacy, and freedom that was so often times taken for granted by many kids her age.

"Show yourself," she said, "or I'll call security."

Something red bolted past. Weiss clenched her jaw and stood tall, Myretenaster ready at a moment's notice. The blur of red went by her again, so close that if she were to extend her arm, she would touch it. That left her with a bad feeling in her stomach. The red mist left behind the smell of roses, which would make Weiss cringe if not for the situation. "I will not hesitate to use this rapier on you," it was true, Weiss knew she would if that blur revealed itself to be some intruder. The red stopped a few meters away after hearing her threat.

Weiss made her way to the figure until she could make out their features at a safe distance. When Weiss stopped, they did. Not very far away from her stood a girl, not much shorter than Weiss. It was hard to tell from where she stood, but Weiss was sure the red thing that had got her attention was the hoodie the girl was wearing.

A few more steps towards the girl allowed Weiss to see her clearly. She had short, uneven black hair that bled into red near the bottom. The girl was wearing a dark red hoodie, a black skirt and tights, with combat boots. Most people would think twice before wearing something like that in this weather, it was too hot to be wearing black.

The other girl kept her head low, looking at her hands. She was wringing them, and bouncing lightly on the soles of her boots. She looked like a child. "This is private property. You're lucky you haven't been gunned down by now. What is your business here?"

The girl ceased the bouncing and the wringing. She looked up at Weiss, slowly, as if she was preparing for a lecture. After waiting a tense moment, she let out a sigh, and stood straighter. She met Weiss's gaze for a moment, looked away, and put her hands behind her back. "I uh... I was walking around in the park near here, the one near the cafe? Anyway I got kinda lost. I've been looking around since," and looked around she did, only to avoid meeting Weiss's eyes.

This had never happened before. If some unknown person happened to "get lost," on the property then they had some ulterior motive. This girl, however, looked guilty and honest. Not that Weiss had a good judge of character. Weiss always had a hard time with understanding the emotions of others, yet this was clear as day and Weiss was struck with a pang of empathy. "Listen, I will tell you how to get out of here, as long as you promise to never return. Do you understand me?"

Weiss's voice was serious. The girl nodded with a smile on her face. How she could smile in a situation like this was lost on Weiss. Weiss didn't return it, instead she walked past the other girl to get a look around the forest. It wasn't very far from the park, in fact it was so close that she was surprised the girl managed to get lost. Her mother and father had few things that they could agree on. One of those included their joy of being surrounded by quiet trees to separate themselves from their neighbors, even if that meant being closer to the town that they despised so much.

"The park where you came from is north of here. Walk straight this way," Weiss pointed towards where she knew the park would be, "and you will be fine. If I, or any others, catch you here again, you will be arrested. Now be on your way."

The girl's smile became bigger. "Okay, thank you uh," her voice trailed on. Weiss gave her a confused look before realizing she was asking for her name. Weiss stood as straight as she could before answering. "Weiss Schnee."

"Thanks again, Weiss, I hope I get to see you again?"

Weiss opened her mouth to answer, but the girl was already off running into the thick of the woods. Weiss sighed, and made her way to the manor. She hoped that no one had noticed her absence in the garden or training grounds. Knowing the security there, she knew that they rarely did their job to watch over her. She was simultaneously glad and displeased. Having a security guard watch her every move made her nervous, but at the same time relieved. It didn't really matter, though, Weiss knew she could do far more than the most trained manor guard.

Jacques made no attempt to talk to her during dinner. She had watched as Whitley and Jacques had a discussion about something Weiss didn't care to listen to. Her mother was absent, as she was often. By then, no one spoke of it. Weiss finished her dinner quick, and excused herself before Jacques had a moment to noticed her absence.

The trip to her room was interrupted by Klein. He was around for as long as Weiss could remember, and was the only one in that entire manor she really cared for. "Ah, miss Schnee," he began, leaning towards her ear and whispering, "I believe I heard your father and Winter having a discussion over the phone earlier. She'll be here in a matter of weeks."

That made Weiss smile. Klein grinned back at her behind his mustache. Weiss made sure to look left and right before pulling him into a quick hug. When he was close enough, she whispered, "Thank you."

"Not a problem, judging by the yelling coming from his study this morning I figured he wouldn't tell you." He said, looking at her with concern. "I do hope he didn't hurt you."

Weiss smiled once more, but this time smaller. "No, not physically. Thank you again Klein." She left him with those words as she went into her room.

Her room was just as she left it in the morning. Maids were supposed to do a routine check of every room, but Weiss had refused to let them into her room when she wasn't there, and even if she was it was rare that they actually got into the room. It wasn't that she didn't trust them, if they were caught with doing something suspicious they would be gone without a trace. The thing that made her wary was the fact that, even inside something that was hers, her father still was able to employ a part of him into it at any given moment.

Weiss changed quickly that night. Winter wasn't able to come to the manor a lot, with her being in the military and Jacques loathing of her career choice, and eventually, her. Winter was the oldest, and was groomed to be the perfect heir. She got a chance of freedom through the military, so she took it, and that was that. Weiss became the next heir, and while she didn't understand it then, she soon knew why Winter left.

A lot of responsibility came with being the heiress to a large, influential company. Meetings, lessons, parties. Weiss hated everything that came with it, especially how the company behaved. The one thing that kept her in the role of heiress was, once her father died, she could change the company however she liked. She knew that, if she didn't have that kind of power, she would have left just like her sister long ago.

She woke up to an early alarm. Weiss got dressed in the clothes she had picked out the night before, so she was ready before she had to eat. The outfit was simple, a stark white button up under a black sweater with some white dress pants and black dress shoes. There was a bag by her door, filled with what was needed for school. Her jacket hung over it, making the trip to the kitchen easier.

Breakfast was rushed. It was her first day back for the second semester. She was nervous, making hasty orders to the half awake staff. Her toast was a little overcooked, and her coffee too bitter. She dismissed it, she knew that these people that worked to serve were just as tired as she was. "I need to leave soon, get a driver ready," she said to a passing staff member. The man she spoke to nodded his head quickly before jogging to the intercom near the entrance of the manor.

A driver arrived quick, just as asked. Weiss got in without a word to the man driving. He knew where to go, and Weiss didn't like small talk this early in the morning. Or ever, really. She leaned her head against the cool glass of the window.

They arrived sooner than Weiss thought they would.

"Have a good day, miss Schnee," said the driver. Weiss gave him a quick nod as she stepped out. Her high school welcomed her by being as intimidating as ever, but she wouldn't have it any other way.

Weiss had made sure that Jacques wouldn't send her to one of the many private schools that were so present near where she lived. She had had enough with the constant snobby, vain kids her age at the numerous parties she attended. Beacon gave her a chance to not live by her name every where she went, but like always, it was still there. She knew that most of the kids that had tried to speak with her only wanted to become friends because of the benefits of the Schnee name.

She approached the school with eager steps. Any time away from that suffocating manor, the better, and what not a better way to escape than with education? Beacon was the perfect solution; with it's Victorian-esque appearance, dedicated staff, and less irritating than usual students.

Benches, trees, and study spots coated the outside of the school. It looked more like a college or university than a high school, which made Weiss proud to attend. There was something about it's deceiving appearance that made her feel like she had something in common with the building.

While she was facing the building, a hand snaked it's way around her shoulder. Weiss became tense, and did not look to see who touched her until he spoke up. "Hey there, Weiss queen."

Weiss wanted to bash her head against a wall when she looked up and saw Neptune. Neptune Vasilias was one of the many boys that threw themselves at her. Usually, after a few attempts, they would realize it was a wasted effort and leave her alone. Neptune either didn't know or didn't care, but either way it got on Weiss's nerves. "Get your hand off of me, Vasilias," she snapped.

A fake pout made it's way onto his face. "Aw, c'mon, all I'm gonna ask for is one date? Please?" Weiss ignored his pleading and began to walk, shrugging off his hand. "Neptune," she stopped and faced him. He smiled sheepishly as he put his hands into his pockets, his expression hopeful. "Yeah?"

"I'm not interested. I wasn't interested the last time you asked, or the time before that, nor will I be swooned by your obnoxious attempts at flirting." Neptune backed away when Weiss stepped closer, hands crossed over her chest. He was obviously trying to find a way to fix this, smooth it over with a cheesy pick up line. "I suggest you stop trying before I really lose my temper and you end up with a broken nose. Do you understand?"

When Neptune failed to answer her question she began to glare. Neptune was looking off to the side, hand combing through his hair. Weiss clenched her jaw, with his refusal of making eye contact and repetitive movements she was losing patience. Weiss checked her watch. With one glance at the boy, she left.