Chapter Text
Yang entered the drawing for the house because Ruby dared her to (she apparently hadn't taught Ruby enough about daring, if this was her idea of a good one). It turned out that it wasn't a scam to get her information, and she won an enormous house. It had defaulted to the state after the owner disappeared and rumors of a haunting arose. The state had neither been able to sell it nor could they find another use that was cost-effective, so it was given away. Yang didn't even have to pay property taxes for the first five years, they were that eager to get rid of it.
She parked in front of the garage and walked to the front door as she fumbled to find the key. It was large, almost as long as her middle finger. She'd only added it to her key ring today, so it was still unfamiliar to her. The front door unlocked, and she opened the door to see a dark-haired woman in a tight black bodysuit under a white overcoat with a pair of dark cat ears on the top of her head staring at the her.
“Hello” Yang sang the word, “they didn't tell me anyone would be here when I moved in.”
“Hi.” The reply she received was somewhat terse. “Of course they wouldn't, are they afraid that a butler would deter someone from buying the house.”
“Butler?” Yang didn't think she looked like a butler. “You're not really dressed for that. I guess I appreciate not having some creaky, old Jeeves, though.”
“How I dress has no bearing on my job performance. How I get paid, on the other hand, does.” Her golden eyes were no longer narrowed, and her words lost their stilted edge.
“Oh grapes, I have no idea what a butler gets paid. They should have told me about this when I won the house.” Yang wasn't sure if she was even supposed to pay this woman. (This woman? Yang, introduce yourself!) “Um, I'm Yang, by the way. Yang Xiao Long.” She offered her hand to her new butler, even if she wasn't sure what she needed a butler for.
“It's nice to meet you, Yang.” The stranger's small hand was enveloped, but her grip wasn't weak. “I've always used the name Blake Belladonna. I can't say I know what a butler is supposed to be paid, either. I was looking for something more stable and this popped up.”
“What were you doing before?” Yang couldn't help but be curious.
Blake turned away and walked to look out a nearby window before answering. “Whatever I had to in order to survive. The gig economy makes it harder to set down roots.”
“I see.” Yang was fairly sure she didn't, but she wasn't going to pry three minutes after meeting Blake. “Have you been waiting long? I would have come a couple days ago if I knew you were here.”
“I only made it inside a few minutes before you did. I wasn't given a key, so I had to work some magic on the back door.”
It didn't escape Yang that Blake had partially evaded the question. She hummed. “I think we should take a look around. I knew this place would be good-sized, but it has exceeded my expectations.”
“You're the boss.” It sounded sincere, but Yang thought there might have been an eye-roll behind it.
“You're not forced to be here, are you? I've heard awful stories about old houses, curses, and faunus enslavement. I never believed them, but I try to keep an open mind.” Yang really hoped she hadn't somehow been involved in human trafficking or something similarly awful.
“I'm here by choice, Yang.” She actually sounded amused. “Maybe everyone else believed in the curse. Shall we?”
They wandered slowly from room to room. Yang found herself wishing she'd brought a map. The house was well-furnished, if in a simple style, and there were enough rooms to house all of her friends and then some if she wanted to host an overnight party. Sheets of various colors covered most of the furniture in the house. Yang looked for meaning in it, but there was no discernible rhyme nor reason to the distribution of colors.
They each had to drag the other out of different rooms to keep their survey on task. Yang dragged Blake out of the library (“You can read them all later. They'll be here for at least five more years.”) While Blake dragged Yang out of the greenhouse (“There aren't any plants growing, so unless your pockets are filled with seeds...”) They both wondered at the auditorium and subterranean grotto (“Blake! There have to be secret passages in this house. Who would build a room you need a canoe to get around in and not build secret passages to get there?” "You might be right, but how would we find them?")
After wandering through the whole house, she turned to Blake. “Do you have your own place, or will you be staying here?”
Blake's eyes widened. “I can stay here?” She looked hopeful.
“Of course. There's room for more if there's anyone you want to bring with.” Yang felt a little sad seeing Blake react so strongly to a minor act of kindness, but she was also happy to know that she brought such an unguarded, bright look to Blake's face. “Any room you want is yours, though I would be a bit worried if you picked the dining room or something.”
Blake mused for a moment, “Any room, huh?” She grinned. “I think I know where to plant my flag.”
Yang trailed behind her as she purposefully walked toward the back of the house and ascended a staircase. Yang started laughing as she realized that Blake was making her way toward the master bedroom.
“'Any room you want', I said.” She said it a bit ruefully, “I'm going to have to be careful what I say around you, aren't I?”
Blake didn't turn immediately, but when she did she looked apprehensive. “You're serious? I can take it?”
“Of course, Blake. You've seen all the other bedrooms. They're all enormous. Besides, if my friend Weiss ever visits, she'll lose it. My sister and I have taught her some humility, but she couldn't conceive of taking a smaller room when the master bedroom was available. Growing up with the kind of privilege she did messes with your head.”
“What is she, a Schnee?”