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Winter Schnee did not care for soulmates.
At the very young age of five years old, a year or two before her younger sister Weiss was born, Winter found out that your soulmate has the same iris pattern as you, though it took a bit of deciphering to get to that part.
Her grandfather, Nicholas Schnee, loved telling her about how he met her grandmother in his youth. How he took her by the hand and went dancing on a starry night and the very moment they made eye contact he knew she was the one, dramatically recalling that he had started sobbing the moment he found out that she was his soulmate, much to Winter's amusement.
“Winter,” he’d say with a warm smile on his face, “If you lock eyes with someone and see your own staring back at you, they’re the one.” and then he would throw his head back and give a hearty laugh, to which she’d respond with a small giggle of her own.
She never liked the way he phrased it, really. It was so… vague. It was as if her grandfather says finding your soulmate is as simple as a gut feeling. She wanted to know for sure that the person she calls her lover will be the one. She didn’t want to make any mistakes.
Winter found it silly that he would tell her the same story over and over. But as she grew older and her younger siblings were born and the great Nicholas Schnee was merely a grand portrait on the wall in the dining room and a happy little memory in her head, she grew to appreciate the memories she made with him. Because she could tell his story to her sister Weiss and her brother Whitley (Weiss enjoyed the story more than Whitley did, she thinks) and see their eyes light up with fascination the same way hers did years ago. She needed to give them hope somehow.
Winter's priorities had changed just a few years before Weiss’ fifth birthday.
She knew the Schnee Manor was not a good environment to live in, not with her parents acting the way they do. She wanted a better life for Weiss and Whitley; she couldn’t bear the thought of leaving her younger siblings with them. A simple story from her childhood wasn't something worth chasing after, she'll get Weiss and Whitley away from their parents and that’s a promise. She can’t afford to let them down. Not now.
After contemplating and working her ass off for years on end, she was finally accepted into Atlas Academy.
As the butlers packed her bags, Winter looked up at the portrait of her grandfather. She wondered if he was watching over her now. She wondered if he was proud, or if he thought she was making a mistake.
No. She knew she had to do this.
With a curt nod from her father and tearful goodbyes from Weiss and a few words with Klein, she left home and was on an airship to Atlas Academy at the age of seventeen.
She had expected the confused looks and snide remarks long before she had stepped into the academy.
Her judgemental peers were the least of her worries if she had to be honest. Why should she care about what they think? It doesn't matter. She knows why she's here, she has her objective, and she was determined to get there no matter what.
Winter knew people would dislike her merely because of her last name. To be a Schnee in a school designed to train warriors was… unexpected, to say the least. With that came the expectation that people wouldn't dare to step up to her considering the fact that the Schnee family held a lot of power all across Remnant, Atlas especially. She sighed, she was just hoping to go graduate at the top of her class quietly and without any distractions.
So imagine her surprise when a girl with raven hair and a smirk on her face walked up to her in the auditorium one day.
Don’t look at her. Don’t cause a scene.
Teams hadn’t even been assigned. What does she want? She doesn’t recall ever crossing paths with this girl, let alone doing anything to her. Then again, she could just be someone who has a bone to pick with her father and, by association, her. That would make a lot more sense.
Winter heard shocked gasps and whispers as the mysterious girl took bold strides to get to her, to which she rolled her eyes. People just love to soak up any amount of drama they can wring out of a Schnee, don't they?
“You,” the girl started, her voice smooth and almost playful, “Winter Schnee, am I correct?”
“That you are,” Winter looked up at her, and to say she was star-struck would be an understatement. She decided to shake it off though, “I must apologize, but I don’t believe we’ve met.”
No distractions. You can’t afford to get distracted, Winter.
The girl let out a laugh. Though her smile didn’t quite reach her eyes, it was a sight to see nonetheless. There was something comforting about her laugh, like it was something she was missing all her life. She could get used to the sound, she thinks.
"My name is Cinder Fall," she purred. Cinder gracefully bowed and gently took Winter's gloved hand in her own. She lightly brushed her lips upon her knuckles, looking up at her with those eyes that burned so bright that Winter felt as if she would catch on fire. It was a mesmerizing glow and before she knew it, Winter felt her face flush. Her heart and mind were racing and all she could think of was the woman in front of her with a brow raised and a playful smile upon her lips.
“... and I must say that I find you most fascinating, Winter Schnee.”
It was electrifying. She was electrifying.
At that moment, it felt as if Winter's whole world had stalled. She couldn’t help but stand and stare as Cinder sauntered away, she felt like her entire body was on fire and the burning feeling hurt so good.
So much for no distractions.
Weeks had passed since that day and Winter could not get Cinder out of her head.
Cinder was a peculiar character, that much was certain. Winter spent precious time trying to figure out why she approached her that day. She definitely wasn’t there because of her last name, because if she was she would’ve gotten some hostility by now, but strangely enough, Cinder’s been rather friendly (at least she thinks it’s friendliness? The winks she throws her way in the hallway are throwing her off). She’s never met her before, and she doesn’t seem like she’s angry at her in any way. Winter just couldn’t figure out what made her tick and it was maddening. Luckily it didn’t affect her academic performance so it was nothing to worry about.
Still, thinking about a complete stranger as often as she did must not be normal.
The woman fascinated her to no end. She walked the halls of Atlas Academy like she was untouchable and, at some point, Winter believed she was. Who wouldn’t? Cinder Fall held herself up as if she was a paragon of dignity and grace; a force to be reckoned with. It wasn’t until her first spar with her that she started to understand that there was much more going on under the surface.
With all the mystery surrounding Cinder Fall, Winter didn’t know what to expect when she stepped into the training grounds with her. She saw her on the other side of the room with her weapon in hand.
Midnight, if she recalled correctly; it consisted of two metal swords that could be joined at the ends to form a bow. It was currently in its bow state in Cinder’s hands. From watching Cinder spar with other students, she noticed that she much preferred to do long-range attacks and, therefore, used Midnight as a bow more often than in its regular form.
“Are you nervous?” Cinder winked, “Don’t worry, I won’t let anything bad happen to you as long as you play nice.”
“How considerate of you,” Winter quipped, “But luckily, I don’t need coddling. Give me your worst.”
Cinder smiled wickedly at her with a brow raised, putting her bow away, much to Winter’s confusion. What was she planning? “You bite back, huh? That’s cute.”
“Remember to gauge your aura, it will help determine if you should stay on the offensive or move to a more defensive strategy,” The professor’s voice boomed from the speakers, Winter caught a glimpse of him in the spectator’s room.
“Speaking of aura,” Cinder mused, catching Winter’s attention, “I know how your semblance works, Schnee. ”
“Ready…”
“But I must wonder..” she pulled out a small vial of dust in her hand and inspected it knowingly, throwing Winter a brief glance with a smirk. What is this? “... do you know about mine?”
Winter was incredibly confused. What was she up to? Cinder had never shown off her semblance before so she didn’t know what to expect. Why the dust? Could it be that her semblance requires dust? Or maybe-
“Begin!”
Her professor’s voice snapped her out of her thoughts and she noticed that Cinder was staring at her with an unreadable expression. She then realized that Winter was looking her way and gave her a nod with a smile as if inviting her to make the first move.
Winter furrowed her brows but took the opportunity and lunged at her. As she drew closer, she noticed that Cinder did not move an inch- she wasn’t even in a proper fighting stance. What is she doing?
In the blink of an eye, Cinder proceeded to pop the vial open and release dust from it into the air, and Winter noticed her eyes started to glow. Winter shot her a look of confusion to which she gave her a wink before the dust particles became crystals that she blasted at her with her aura.
Winter was able to miraculously avoid the dust crystals without getting hit and watched as they exploded once they hit the wall, but she’s right back to where she started. As she remained couched, she whipped her head around to turn to Cinder in disbelief, “What the hell was that? ”
“My semblance, darling,” Cinder shrugged nonchalantly as she ran a hand through her hair. The action made Winter gulp, “Pretty little thing, isn’t it?”
Cinder tucked the vial of dust away and took Midnight out. She had noticed that Winter was awfully quiet and turned to see her with furrowed brows and a glare, to which she only laughed at, “Oh, frustrated are you? Why, we’ve barely even begun yet.”
Winter watched as Cinder grabbed her scroll and pursed her lips as she stared at the screen, clicking her tongue. “You can’t back out now, Schnee. Our auras haven’t even dropped a bit.”
“Who said I was backing out?” Winter huffed as she went back into a fighting stance, chin up.. shoulders back, right foot f-
“Oh, my sincerest apologies. Did I provoke you?”
“You talk too much, Fall.”
“Come shut me up then, Schnee .”
There was a pause before Winter scoffed and dashed at her opponent once again.
They kept that up for a bit; dodging and slashing, smirks and banter. Their peers watched astounded as they went for blow after blow and with each hit to Cinder’s aura, she made sure Winter didn’t fall too far behind. All who witnessed knew that these two were equally matched.
It was a thrill Winter had never experienced before. She could hear her own heartbeat as she blocked her advances, she could feel an energy coursing through her like electricity. She could feel her face heating up as she makes eye contact with her opponent.
They moved as if they were dancing; two partners interlocked, moving to the sound of metal clashing against metal.
It was dangerous and beautiful and Winter Schnee had never felt so alive.
“Five minutes until I will have to call the match.”
“Hear that, Schnee? Playtime will be over soon,” Her raven-haired adversary pouted, chuckling to herself as she dodged another one of her attacks, “What do you say we end it with a bang?”
“Fine by me,” Winter growled as she went to slash at Cinder, which she easily blocks with her own swords.
“Your movements are-” Cinder’s eyes widened as she made eye contact with Winter, and Winter used this opening as an opportunity to kick her away.
She turned to look at her scroll to see that she had made a significantly large blow to Cinder’s aura. Just one more hit and it’ll drop into the red.
As Cinder began to stand up and compose herself, Winter then summoned a glyph behind her and there came a bright flash of light as she began speeding towards Cinder with light trailing behind her. Cinder looked up bewildered as Winter finished her off with one last slash, successfully ending the match with Winter Schnee as the victor.
“And that concludes the sparring match between Ms. Schnee and Ms. Fall,” Her professor’s voice booms through the speakers, “As you can see, students, Ms. Fall’s aura had dropped significantly from that one blow, indicating that she...”
She had drowned out his voice and focused entirely on her fallen sparring partner, who was in the middle of picking herself up. She noted that Cinder looked mildly annoyed and frustrated, and she couldn't quite tell if the negative energy she radiated was supposed to be directed at her.
It was then that Winter knew there was much more to Cinder that she let on. Much like herself, it seemed that Cinder had something to prove. Is that why she was so cocky on the training grounds? To prove something to her?
Winter had many questions that were left unanswered, but as she watched Cinder pick up one of her swords and lightly ran her thumb on the blade with a dark, determined look, she knew there was much more to Cinder Fall than meets the eye. She was determined to know what made her raven-haired adversary tick.
And she had a feeling that she will be seeing more of her as the school year continues, the thought made her smile triumphantly. Perfect.