Chapter Text
It all started when her sister was born.
Living in the Schnee mansion for her entire life, Weiss was no stranger to yelling and violence. The strained casual interactions dragged on during the day, and as the sun set, hushed arguing could be heard if she were to listen closely. However, she wouldn’t need to try for long, as the arguing would escalate and the shouts would echo through the cold, empty hallways. Weiss would try to ignore their voices, but her poor little heart would jump as she could hear expensive items being thrown, and smacks piercing the air. She’d fall into a fitful slumber and in the morning, her mother would be sitting in the living room with a glass of wine, sipping it down as if it would carry her far, far away from there. And in a way, it did.
Jacques Schnee was not discreet about what was troubling him. As he would yell at her heavily inebriated mother, his words would sting at her, as if they had been aimed directly at her.
“Such a useless woman!” he’d snap, “Bringing me nothing but more pathetic girls! Three children, and not a single son!”
Willow Schnee had long since given up on reasoning with her husband about it. He would stay resentful no matter what she said. Her body was no longer capable of bearing any more children, so she couldn’t dissuade him with promises to try again. It seemed that Jacquez was left with no other options.
Well, no ethical options, at least.
5-year-old Weiss had been confused when she was told she would be Jacques’s son. It didn’t make sense to her but, as she’d done with everything else concerning her father, she never questioned it and bent at his will. Everything that was even remotely female was stripped away from her as soon as physically possible and from that moment, Weiss Schnee was to be the heir to the Schnee Dust company. Raised to fit her father’s image in every aspect, down to the smallest of details. She was ‘perfect’.
Her sister hadn’t escaped such treatment either. Whitley had been subjected to the same treatment as Weiss. A last resort if for some reason, things wouldn’t work out with his second oldest child. He was a man who wasn’t a fan of not getting his way, and made sure that he’d get what he wanted, no matter what.
His influence tugged at her, like the strings on a puppet, with him as the puppeteer. She was a pawn, someone to fulfill his legacy the way he wanted. Nearly every shred of individuality had been stripped from her and he had complete control. But she never fought it. His strings seemed to dig impossibly deep into her conscious and refused to let go.
Weiss couldn’t stop jittering, growing restless in her seat. She was currently thousands of miles away from that godforsaken mansion, and growing closer and closer to freedom! In all honesty, she had been surprised that her father had agreed to let her go to Beacon Academy, though she suspected that he’d only done so to reinforce her masculine image. It made sense seeing as she’d likely spend a lot of time hacking and slashing at beowolves and such.
She shook away those thoughts from her mind. Right now, her father didn’t matter. She let a content smile spread across her face as the school came into view. It was time.
“You have arrived, Mister Schnee,” a butler informed her, holding her possessions.
Weiss nodded, standing from her seat. Exiting the airship, she smiled up at the large building, walking with her held up high. Nothing could possibly ruin her mood now.
...Well, nothing, except for maybe some dolt collapsing into several suitcases full of her expensive, sensitive dust.
“What are you doing!?” she exclaimed in her practiced voice. It came naturally to her now, and she was thankful for that as she wasn’t prepared for such a situation, especially just after arriving.
“Uh, sorry,” the young girl groaned, sitting up and raising a hand to her aching head.
“Sorry?! Do you have any idea of the damage you could have caused?” she scolded, a harsh icy glare crossing her face. Such behavior wasn’t acceptable from a woman! Weiss could barely believe that they would even allow such a dunce into such a prestigious academy.
“Uhh,” the red-clad girl seemed to be at a loss of what to do, picking up one of the white suitcases in a feeble attempt to help.
“Give me that!” Snatching the dust away, she opened the suitcase to make sure the vials were intact. Luckily, nothing broke. “This is Dust, mined and purified from the Schnee quarry!” She couldn’t help but be annoyed when the incompetent girl only gave out another nervous ‘uhhh’. “What are you, brain dead? Dust! Fire, water, lightning, energy!”
“I-I know,” she stuttered, coughing a bit.
Rolling her eyes, she continued to grill into the younger girl until finally, she sneezed. An explosion of elements was set off, causing a series of loud noises to erupt. After the haze cleared up, she immediately checked to make sure her outfit was intact. Luckily, her vest and pants were fine, aside from a few marks she’d have to get cleaned. “Unbelievable! This is exactly the kind of thing I was talking about!”
Despite her apologizing profusely, Weiss disregarded her words, instead pointing out how young she was. It was obvious that someone like her didn’t belong at this academy. She was half convinced the girl didn’t even understand where she was. “This isn’t your ordinary combat school. It’s not just sparring and practice, you know! We’re here to fight monsters so… watch where you’re going, little girl!”
“Hey, I said I was sorry, ‘prince’!”
“Heir, actually,” a third voice cut in. Weiss turned to see a girl with long, wavy, raven hair and a book in her hand. “Weiss Schnee, heir to the Schnee Dust company, one of the largest producers of energy propellant in the world.”
“Finally, some recognition!” she smirked.
“The same company infamous for its controversial labor forces and questionable business partners,” the girl continued. Her face fell.
Not dignifying her claims with a response, she stormed off, already irritated. She ignored the younger girl’s claim to make it up to her as she sincerely doubted she’d be able to come close to doing such a thing.
To think, 10 minutes before, she’d been so optimistic. She could only hope that it wouldn’t get any worse.
Things progressively got worse after that. The dolt she’d run into upon first arriving turned out to not only be her partner but her leader, for the duration of her time at this academy. Her pride was wounded as that was announced. Her entire predicament, The clothes she wore, the rather uncomfortable binder that was underneath, her practiced deep voice, all of it was for the sake of being a leader. Maybe not for this specific position, but it still hurt that this young, naïve, girl of all people was the one leading her team. She felt as if all the effort that she put in would never be good enough. Perhaps it’s because she lacked the real equipment. She wasn’t really a man. She could try with all her might, but deep down she knew that it was just an act.
However, that was the most important thing. She just needed to at least look the part. Her everyday wear consisted of a red button-up shirt underneath a white vest, with matching white pants. She had plenty of similar clothes with her, and they were all made of the finest materials, probably costing more than everything her roommates owned. Despite how expensive and ‘perfect’ they were, she felt very uncomfortable in every single outfit. Like it was suffocating her, serving as a constant reminder that her father still had an iron grip on her from hundreds of miles away. Yet she put them on and didn’t dare complain, because it was essential for her to be at the top. Things had to be this way.
However, despite being angry and frustrated that all of the work she’d done was for nothing, a conversation with Professor Port had made her reconsider her approach.
“Professor Port!” She’d called out after noticing him, heading towards the mustached man.
“Ah, Mister Schnee! And to what do I owe the fine pleasure?” Port asked enthusiastically.
“I… I enjoyed your lecture!”
Port smirked. “Of course you did, son! You have the blood of a true hunter in you!” She tried not to flinch at his wording. She’s used to people talking to her like that, but at that moment, it really stung.
“You really think so?” She asked, looking away.
“Of course!” He paused, noticing how troubled she looked. “Hmm, it appears that something’s troubling you?”
“Yes, sir…” She admitted.
“Young man, confess to me your strife!” He insisted, his wording not helping her in the least bit.
“Well… I-I think I should have been the leader of team RWBY!”
“That’s preposterous!”
Her blood began to boil. “Excuse me?!”
“I’ve believed in Professor Ozpin for many years, and the man’s never once led me astray!”
“So you would just blindly accept his decision after seeing how exceptional of a man I am!?”
“With all due respect, your exceptional skill on the battlefield is matched by your poor attitude! And, quite frankly, I’m absolutely baffled by your bias against the opposite sex!”
“B-bias against the opposite sex?!” She stuttered. What did he mean by that?
“It would seem that you feel you deserve the position due to being a ‘strong, capable man ’. Even in class, I’ve seen you stress your masculinity very often. When your leader wanted to give you support, you shrugged her off, as you claimed not to need a girl’s help.” He pointed out. Weiss’ brain was processing this. Women were weak and didn’t know as well as men. This is something that she had been told several times in the past. It’s why she has to put on a binder and lower her voice every day. She couldn’t be seen as inferior when she takes over her father’s company, she had to be a man. That’s just how things were.
So how come Professor Port seemed to think differently?
“Listen, young man. Anyone can fit a roll regardless of gender. It’s about skill and, even more than that, personality. Your character is what will determine your fate in life, not your masculinity. No amount of ‘manliness’ will cause those in power to reconsider their decision.” Weiss listened closely at his words, letting them sink in. This was much, much different than just about everything she’d been told in life. “So instead of pushing others away and thinking you’re entitled to things because of what you are, keep honing your skills and perfecting techniques, but also be the best person you can be. That’s what will benefit you in the end.”
With those words, their conversation came to a close. Walking back, Weiss mulled over what she’d been told. He’d made it clear that her gender wasn’t going to get her everywhere. She thought that with intelligence, strength, and skill backing her up, she would be able to always be at the top. Yet she was told she had to work on her attitude and character, not her masculinity. Sighing, she decided to accept that. She was in a team, so she’d do her best to act like it.
At first, it had been very awkward for her to adjust to living in a dorm with three other girls. She had to make sure she was very modest and gave them their privacy and space, despite the fact that she had the same parts as them. However, as time passed, she got used to things and was actually starting to adjust to living at Beacon. She grew closer to her teammates and everyone seemed to be doing well.
At least until…
“Well maybe we were just tired of being pushed around!”
Blakes words were met with silence as everyone froze. Nobody knew what to say, or what to think. Blake didn’t give anyone a chance to compose themselves, however, as she darted out of the dorm room, leaving three shocked and confused girls staring wide-eyed at the door.
Without another word, Weiss laid down on her bed, her mind reeling from what she’d just heard. Was Blake one of them . Could she even trust her now? Just how much was she hiding? Is she dangerous?
The questions swirling in her mind didn’t let her get any sleep.
The next day, the trio was walking around, calling out for Blake. Or, at least, Yang and Ruby were. Weiss was too lost in her own thoughts. Even the annoying shrill yelling happening in front of her didn’t distract her until it was aimed at her.
“Weiiiiss, you’re not helping!” Ruby whined.
“Oh, you know who might be able to help? The police!” she snapped.
“Ugh, Weiss,” Ruby groaned, crossing her arms.
“It was just an idea,” She shrugged.
“Yeah. A bad one,” her leader mumbled as she kept walking.
“Weiss, I think we should hear her side of the story before we jump to any conclusions,” Yang offered, trying to calm the heir down.
“Well, I think that when we hear it, you’ll all realize that I was right!” Weiss huffed.
“And I think that Weiss’ hair looks pretty today!”
Weiss flinched after hearing the random fourth voice pop in. But then she realized what the odd ginger had said to her. She’d complimented Weiss’ hair, even going as far as to call it 'pretty'. Anger built up inside of her. It must look girly, she thought to herself, huffing in irritation. Her hair wasn’t special, it was just in a ponytail.
Just then, a thought crossed her mind. Does… does she know?! Has she seen past my act? Her anger did a 180 and turned into anxiety. Did she forget to do anything that morning? She hadn’t slept the previous night, so maybe she did something wrong? But no, her binder was there, and her hair was still tied up in that masculine ponytail. Perhaps she was fretting over nothing. There was no way this awkward girl knew the truth.
Well… that’s what she thought until Penny called Blake a faunus, mentioning that there were cat ears under her bow. It that was true, and Penny was that perceptive, then maybe she did know. The anxiety returned tenfold, and it took her an enormous amount of effort to not let it show.
Amidst her worrying, she realized something. She and Blake had something in common. They were both hiding who they truly were, covering themselves to appease the people around them. The fabric they used to cover themselves was just so that they don’t have to be hurt by anyone else. So they wouldn’t have to face judgment, and they could pretend they were ‘normal’. It was all a long, awful, tiring game of pretend. They had so much on the line if they were to be exposed and could barely feel comfortable in their own skin. It was suffocating, and absolutely dreadful.
Now, Weiss related with Blake on a much, much deeper level.
Weiss walked up to Blake as Ruby tried to explain the situation, ignoring the young leader. As she came, close, Blake began to speak.
“Weiss, I want you to know that I’m no longer associated with the White Fang. Back when I was with the-”
“Stop” She interrupted, surprising the cat faunus. “Do you have any idea how long we’ve been searching for you?” she paused briefly, being met with silence. “Twelve hours! That means that I’ve had twelve hours to think about this. And in that twelve hours, I’ve decided…” another pause. “I don’t care.”
“You don’t care?” Blake asked, absolutely flabbergasted at Weiss’ declaration.
“So long as you’re not one of them anymore, as you said. Just promise me that the next time something this big comes up, you’ll come to your teammates and not some…” she glances at Sun for a moment, before continuing. “Someone else.”
Blake paused before nodding. “Of course,” she said, letting out a breath. She was relieved that things had gone well, as she’d been certainly sure that it would all go downhill. Weiss sent Blake a sympathetic glance before they departed back to their dorm. Blake managed to catch a glimpse of it, wondering what that was about. She felt as if there was more to Weiss than what she knew. Silently, she wondered just who the heir really was. Something about him felt… off. Shrugging, she figured she’d find out soon.
