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“There’s a monster under my bed.”
“No there isn't, Weiss,” muttered Winter, refusing to look up from her copy of the Atlas Academy Exam textbook. "Shoo away."
Weiss shook her head, her icy white hair whipping back and forth. "There is too, Winter! I saw it with my own eyes!"
Winter Schnee sighed. For a few sweet, blissful moments she actually thought she’d get some peace and quiet tonight. How foolish of her. Peace and quiet were simply not possible when she was stuck in a penthouse suite with her baby siblings. At least Whitley had the decency to stay asleep in his crib. Weiss had just turned seven and already had the stubbornness of a girl twice her age.
Mr. Schnee had planned his business trip to Old Mantle a month ago. Mrs. Schnee encouraged her children to think of it as a 'vacation', but all they were really doing was moving a couple of miles away from the mansion to the Glass Unicorn hotel.
Winter had packed her best dress and spent weeks preparing to meet the elite of the elite, only to discover the Atlas Convention was strictly adults-only. Which meant she'd be spending the whole trip stuck in a hotel room. As a Schnee, Winter was accustomed to being disappointed with her family's actions - but this was more than a letdown. It was a keen reminder that her parents still saw her as a child.
Mother and father are probably having a wonderful time right now, thought Winter, bitterly. I should be there too. Sipping wine with the Atlesian high command. But no, I’m stuck here listening to this brat complain about monsters. All in a day’s work for Winter…
"Are you still here?" muttered Winter, catching her little sister out of the corner of her eye. "I thought I told you to go to bed."
Weiss looked back at her room, shuddered, and clutched at her nightgown. “I can’t,” she said, in a small voice. “There’s something in there.”
"Don't be foolish," chided Winter. "I already told you there's no monster."
“Mother would believe me,” said Weiss, in a small but determined voice. "Where is she? I want mother!"
“Mother and father are having an important dinner,” said Winter, looking up at her baby sister. “Which means they won’t want to be disturbed by some whinging little brat.” She waved her black-gloved hand dismissively. “Go to bed.”
"No! There's a monster hiding in there!"
“Is that so?” said Winter, turning back to her book. She flicked a few pages forward. "And where is this monster hiding?"
"I told you it was under the bed!"
"What did it look like?" asked Winter in a skeptical tone.
Weiss's eyes fell. “It was dark, so I didn't see all of it," she mumbled. "But I could see its face. It looked thin and...sad..."
"A sad monster?" scoffed Winter. "Oh, how very scary," she added, sarcastically.
"I'm telling the truth!" said Weiss.
Winter decided to take a long sip of tea before responding. “Go to sleep, Weiss. This is your last warning.”
“What if it’s a Grimm?” whispered Weiss, urgently.
"Oh, for the love of-"
“I saw one of them sleeping outside!”
Winter set down her teacup, then examined her baby sister with piercing pale blue eyes. “Those were statues, you little dunce. If they were real Grimm, I think the huntsmen and huntresses in the lobby would have done something about it. Don’t you?”
"O-Okay," conceded Weiss. She clutched her pajamas tighter. "But-"
"This is probably the most secure building in all Old Mantle," said Winter, cutting off any potential whinging. "Father wouldn't send us to the Glass Unicorn unless he knew it was safe for little girls, would he?"
Weiss seemed to consider this. But as a small, sheltered Schnee girl she wasn’t used to being refused anything. Her eyes hardened and she stuck out her bottom lip as she prepared to issue her big sister an ultimatum.
“I’m not leaving your room unless you check under my bed," said Weiss.
Several eventful seconds later, Winter stepped out of her room carrying a struggling red-faced Weiss by the back of her nightgown. Winter dropped her angry gremlin of a sibling onto the expensive-looking rug and turned away.
“Fine!” snapped Weiss, scrambling to her feet, and stamping on the plush hotel carpet. “I’ll go to my room!"
"Good," muttered Winter, without looking back.
"And when I get gobbled up by Grimm in the night, mother and father will blame you!”
“No,” Winter looked over her shoulder and flashed a cruel grin. "They'd probably thank me for ridding them of such an annoying little pest!"
Winter shut the door. She sat down, eager to resume her studies for the Atlas Academy entrance exams. Then the sound of pathetic sniffling reached her ears. She paused for a moment as some kind of warm sisterly instinct stirred in her cold heart.
She sighed heavily, stood up, and opened the door. She was greeted by a whimpering and tear-streaked Weiss.
“There, there,” said Winter, kneeling down and making a half-hearted attempt at comfort. “I didn’t mean it.”
When Weiss didn't respond, Winter gently laid a gloved hand on her little sister's chin and turned their tearful face up to hers.
"Weiss, listen to me," Winter fixed her with an icy glare. "There is no monster in this hotel."
"Yes, there is!" Weiss cried.
Winter put her finger to her lips. “Shush!” she hissed. “You're going to wake up Whitley!”
“I don't care,” protested Weiss, stomping her feet again. "Why does Whitley get everything he wants?"
"He's a baby!" Winter pointed out.
"I'm a baby too!" Weiss countered.
Winter put her hands on her head and exhaled in exasperation. "You certainly are..."
Eventually, Winter realized there was only one way to shut her little sister up. She stepped back into her room, clicked open one of her many suitcases, and extracted a glinting white sword. Then she took Weiss’s tiny hand in hers and dragged her away.
As they walked through the dimly lit hotel penthouse together, Winter muttered curses under her breath. At least in the family manor, everyone could easily avoid everyone else. Winter supposed that's why the Schnees had built such an incredibly colossal mansion. So they wouldn't ever have to look at each other for more than a few minutes over dinnertime, and even that was on the other side of a very long table.
Even a penthouse suite at the Glass Unicorn wasn’t big enough to house the Schnee family's egos.
Although, Winter had to admit there were worse places to sleep than the Glass Unicorn. It was one of the finest hotels in the Old Mantle, patronized by industrialists, councilors, and hunters alike. And the interior was gorgeous. Under Winter’s feet was a carpet so lush and clean she could have eaten dinner off it. Clearly, the Glass Unicorn hired excellent maids.
Weiss is out of her mind, thought Winter. How could anyone feel unsafe surrounded by such luxury?
Winter sighed as she stepped up to the tall white door of Weiss’s bedroom and pushed it open. Yellow light spilled into the darkness beyond.
“There,” said Weiss, pointing to the bed as she trembled behind her big sister’s legs. “That’s where I saw the monster!”
Winter sighed again. She marched across the room, drew her sword, and jabbed it scabbard-first under the bed.
“See?” she said, walking away and wiping her hands. “No monsters, no Grimm, not even a mouse. Now, will you please go to sleep?”
Weiss glared uncertainly at the bed, then buried her face in Winter’s nightgown. “Check it again,” she whispered.
After suppressing the urge to drop some very unladylike swears, Winter walked back into the room. She jabbed under the bed three more times with her sword, and the third and final jab hit something soft, drawing a quiet whimper.
“There, nothing to-” Winter paused. Her eyes widened as she turned back to the bed.
Both Schnee sisters stood quietly. Fear hung in the silence like cold mist.
Winter slowly pushed Weiss out of the room with one hand and raised her sword with the other.
“Hide,” Winter hissed over her shoulder.
Weiss turned and obeyed her sister’s command. She padded across the penthouse and dived under a large sedan chair.
Tense as coiled spring, Winter reached down and grabbed the bottom of the bed. She took a deep breath, then lifted it upwards. She was prepared to drive her sword straight into whatever she found there. But what she saw made her hesitate.
There was a girl asleep on the floor. A young girl, even younger than Winter. She had a smudged-up face and greasy black hair tied up in a pair of chaotic mismatched pigtails. The girl fidgeted in her sleep, totally oblivious to the fact she'd been discovered.
Winter was so confused and angry that for a moment she could only watch the girl lying there. As Winter's gaze swept over the girl's thin body, she noted the dirt on her hands and dark circles under her eyes - both hallmarks of a lower-class criminal.
Then the girl began to wake up. Her eyes fluttered open as she groaned and tried to focus on her surroundings. The first thing she saw was a sword-toting Schnee girl looming over her. Before she had time to scream, Winter's foot slammed down and pinned her to the floor.
“Who are you?” cried Winter. “A thief? A White Fang assassin? Answer me!”
The figure just whimpered and curled in on themselves, shielding their face with their elbows.
Winter’s slate-blue eyes narrowed in suspicion. She lowered her gaze and regarded the girl’s plain white uniform with distaste.
“You’re no assassin,” said Winter, indignantly. She took her foot off the girl's stomach. “What are you, a maid?”
As the weight on her body was lifted, the girl uncurled and nodded at Winter. The teenager’s chilling, slate-blue eyes drilled into her.
“I'm s-sorry, ma'am,” stammered the girl. She held up shivering hands in a gesture of surrender. "I d-didn't mean to-"
“What were you doing in my baby sister's room?” growled Winter, cutting her off.
The girl swallowed. “I was…cleaning!” she whimpered, then gasped as the tip of Winter’s sword was suddenly pointed at her throat.
“Do not lie to me,” said Winter, icily. "You came in here to steal something, didn't you?"
"No, I came in here to make the beds!" the girl protested, her chest rising and falling to match her frantic breaths. "It's the truth, I swear it!"
Winter's face remained icy. She leaned down and tilted her head as she examined what appeared to be a strange piece of jewelry around the maid's neck. She tapped it with her sword. "Where did you get this?"
"From my stepmother," answered the girl. Suddenly there was a pained look in her eyes. "It was a...gift...to remind me to be good..."
Winter took once last look at the necklace, then sneered. It wasn't one of her mother's jewels, because Mrs. Schnee would never have bought anything with less than a hundred diamonds on it. And it clearly hadn't been forged properly, judging by the red marks around the maid's throat. This girl may have been an unclean wretch, but she clearly wasn't a thief or a liar.
"So if you are a maid..." Winter began. "Then tell me, what kind of maid sleeps under a guest's bed?"
The girl did not respond. Her eyes darted nervously down to the sword, then back up at Winter.
"Do not make me repeat myself," snapped Winter. "This sword is good for more than pointing, you know."
“I didn't mean to fall asleep there," said the girl, hurriedly. "I was just so tired, and it was so warm under the bed, I couldn't help it...”
“Well, I hope your little nap was worth the trouble,” growled Winter. She sheathed her sword. “I’m calling the concierge.”
Winter was not prepared for the effect this threat would have on the young maid. She looked pretty terrified already. But at the mention of the concierge, what little color remained in her face drained away entirely. “No!” she cried. “No, please-”
The girl crawled forward on all fours and groveled at Winter's feet.
"Don't touch me!" growled Winter, taking a step back in disgust.
"You can't tell her!" implored the girl, clasping her shivering hands together.
“Don't bark orders at me, you servant!” spat Winter. "Know your place!"
To Winter's astonishment, the girl stood up. For a moment, her sad eyes betrayed a hint of something darker. Of fire and ash. Winter's hands flew to the handle of her sword, but then, just as quickly as it had roared into life, the fire in the maid's eyes faded.
She fell to her knees and started to cry.
The hotel concierge arrived at the penthouse suite less than a minute after Winter called her. Once inside, she didn't waste time. She grabbed the maid harshly by the hair and dragged her out of the room, continually apologizing and bowing as she did so. Winter said nothing.
Once the concierge was gone, Winter ran to the door and triple-locked it. As the final latch slid into place, she heard what could have been muffled shouting from outside, followed by a sharp buzzing noise that continued for what seemed like a very long time.
Winter hesitated for a moment. Only a moment. Then she turned away.
After returning her sword to its case, Winter walked over to Weiss's hiding spot. Winter cleared her throat and Weiss crawled out from underneath the sedan chair, shaken and on the brink of tears. Winter sighed and held out her hand.
"Is the monster gone?" said Weiss. Her voice was small and uncertain.
"That wasn't a monster," muttered Winter. "Just some scared little girl."