Capítulo 786: 129
Chapter 129:
The dinner that followed was more than a little on the awkward side. After so many emotional outbursts, it was hard to pick a normal conversation back up. Jaune's sisters and father tried talking to them about the tournament, and Jaune and his friends had done their best to respond. But it had done little to clear the uneasy feeling lingering over the gathering.
Still, by the end of it, everyone was smiling, even Sapphira. Over dessert, they wrapped up their plans for Jaune to spend time with his family during the festival. After that, it was time for them to head home (or the hotel, in the case of Jaune's family). Jaune saw them off with a smile.
Ruby sidled up next to him. "You think it's gonna be okay?" she asked.
"I think we might be able to manage," said Jaune. Turning around, he swept Ruby up in a hug, eliciting a squeal from her, which he promptly silenced with a kiss to her lips. "Thank you...for everything."
Ruby kissed him back. "Thank you," she said back. "No matter what, we'll be on each other's side."
"Yeah," agreed Jaune.
They shared another lingering kiss.
Sasame looked on with a fond smile. Then her ears picked up a faint, almost inaudible, sniff, coming from right next to her. Looking over, Sasame's smile faltered as she saw Yang wiping her eyes. The look she wore wasn't the proud smile of a sister, happy to see her little sister growing up so well. Instead, there was a look of regret on her face.
"Yang-chan...?" prodded Sasame.
Yang sniffled again, before pulling out her scroll and glancing forlornly at it. "I guess it was stupid of me to try," she said.
"Try what?" asked Sasame.
Yang explained what she'd been doing, how she'd been taking pictures of Ruby at her happiest, and sending them to her father, via his therapist. It had been her hope that, after seeing how happy and fulfilled Ruby was, Taiyang would finally come to accept reality, and give up on forcefully trying to bring Ruby back home.
"I was an idiot," said Yang. "I...I thought if I could just help him fix himself, then maybe..." She shuddered, wrapping her arms around herself. "But it's too late. She's already given up on him. So...I've just been wasting my time, I guess."
"Oh, Yang-chan," said Sasame softly. She pulled Yang down into a hug, her tails dividing so that all nine of them around Yang in a fluffy cocoon. Leaning in, she planted a kiss on Yang's forehead.
"You aren't wrong," said Sasame.
"I'm not...?" asked Yang.
Sasame smiled and nodded. "If anything, I'm proud of you for having the strength to keep trying, to continue to try and bring your family back together. It shows just what a wonderful, loving girl you are. It makes me proud that I can call someone like you my sister."
Yang smiled briefly, before her frown returned. "But...it's all for nothing, isn't it?"
"Maybe..." conceded Sasame. "...Maybe not. It's true that Ruby-chan will most likely never accept Taiyang-san as her father ever again. But that doesn't mean that there's no hope for love between them.
"The sad truth is that some things; be they objects, people, or feelings; can be lost, never to be regained. Ruby-chan will probably never be able to look at Taiyang-san as her father again. But that doesn't mean you have to give up on her being able to recognize him as family. There is always possibility, always hope...Granted, the impetus is mainly on Taiyang-san. Before anything else can happen, he must overcome his weakness, and take responsibility for the way he has behaved. Then, he must resolve to accept the way things are, rather than fixating on the way they were. If he can manage those things, then...maybe..."
She used her thumbs to wipe away Yang's tears. "Of course, part of that is that you should never stop trying. Even if your efforts never bear fruit, it's still important you try, because it's such an important piece of who you are, and what makes you such a wonderful person."
"Thanks...Sasame-nee," said Yang, grinning.
Sasame squealed softly, then pulled Yang in to kiss her forehead again. "No matter what, I'm rooting for you, Yang-chan," she whispered softly.
Yang settled into the comfortable embrace, finding herself nearly lulled to sleep.
After the emotional turmoil that had been dinner on Friday evening, RASP and RYNB had returned to their dorm rooms and all but collapsed in exhaustion. Even Weiss, worried about what was awaiting her at Whitley's gala, found herself passed out from the emotional rollercoaster that dealing with Jaune's parents and sisters had been.
On some level, she was utterly floored that Jaune had found it in himself to forgive his parents and sisters for what they'd put him through. Sure, they appeared to have realized what they'd done, but that didn't magically make it all go away. If Weiss' own father suddenly pulled an emotional one-eighty, and completely changed his life, if he'd suddenly realized what a monster he was, and came to regret the way he'd treated his wife and children, and came to her, begging forgiveness...Weiss was fairly certain that she wouldn't find it in herself to forgive him.
Not that there was much risk of that happening. However terrible their treatment of him had been, the fact remained that Jaune's family had treated him like that out of care for him, however perverted a form that care had taken. Weiss was under no such illusions that her father had any such benign motives, though he occasionally paid lip-service to them.
In the end, the only thing that Jacques Schnee cared about was his own enrichment. The Schnee name was merely something he'd taken on to advance his own ambitions. The Schnee Dust Company nothing more than a collection of assets that represented just how much wealth and power he possessed. The only thing that mattered was that it continued to make him money, and kept him a figure of influence amongst the powerful. If the SDC ever lost its value, Jacques would abandon it as heartlessly as he had his own family name.
That enmity Weiss felt for her father extended to her brother as well. Whitley was a schemer, a manipulator, Jacques' favorite for good reason. Her memories of him near always involved him mocking and teasing her and Winter for their fixation on the 'barbarism' of becoming Huntresses. Even when they'd occasionally used force to shut him up, Whitley still always seemed unbearably smug about it, as though he'd won something.
Those feelings all left Weiss alone for the night, at least. But they came back when she woke back up, and Whitley's gala was looming ahead that evening. Weiss awoke with an uneasy twisting feeling in her stomach, the knowledge that she and Ashley would have to go there, mingle with the racists and elitists that gathered around the Schnee name, and do their best to remain civil throughout the barrage of insults that were bound to come their way. More than she felt trepidation at weathering that herself, Weiss felt guilt for Ashley needing to be subjected to that. Even with the "plan" they'd come up with, she still felt guilty for bringing Ashley to interact with those kinds of people.
Even so, they had decided to go through with it. So, when everyone went their separate ways for the day, Weiss met up with Ashley for their critical errand...choosing their dresses.
"Um...I still have the dress from the dance," Ashley pointed out as Weiss led them into the same shop they'd used last time. "Do we really need to get new ones?"
"Sadly, yes," said Weiss. "There are pictures out there of us in those dresses, I'm sure. And while that may not mean much, the fact that we haven't gotten new dresses for this event can be seen as a way for the people there to look down on us."
"Isn't that, kinda...?" Ashley struggled to figure out how to say it.
"Stupid?" supplied Weiss helpfully. Seeing Ashley nod, she sighed. "Yes, it is. It's such a vapid and shallow criteria to judge people by, and it's the kind of judgment practiced by those with more money than sense, the kind of idiots who buy an outfit to show off exactly once, then never wear again, because they feel that being able to afford a brand new one every time makes them better than other people."
"Ugh!" grunted Ashley.
Weiss had to agree. "As much as I don't like it either, we'll play by their rules, for now. We're going to be doing something audacious after all, so we'll need to protect ourselves as best we can."
"Protect ourselves...?" Ashley frowned in confusion.
"Think of it like this," explained Weiss, resting her hands on Ashley's upper arms, looking her in the eyes. "We're not just shopping for dresses, we're looking to buy armor."
"Armor...?"
Weiss nodded. "In that room, with those people, the dresses we wear will be our first line of defense. In high society, your dress is your battle-gear. When we enter that room, we'll do it holding our heads high, because we will have absolutely nothing to be ashamed of."
"I...I think I get it," said Ashley.
"Good," said Weiss. "Because that's especially important for you. You're going to enter a room filled with people who share Father's view of faunus. But remember...regardless of what they say or do...you have nothing to be ashamed of, least of all who and what you are."
"Thank you," said Ashley.
Weiss leaned in and stole a swift kiss from her. "Now...let's give those idiots something to gossip about."
"Right," said Ashley, nodding her head sharply.
"Let's go here next!" shouted Marigold excitedly.
Jaune and Ruby could only grin as the youngest Arc daughter towed them behind her. They were both holding onto one of her hands, so that Marigold was between them. When she leaned and pulled forward, she was hanging over far enough that, if they let go, she'd fall flat on her face.
Still, they clung gamely on, managing to maintain their balance in the face of little Marigold's surprising strength. They happily allowed her to pull them towards the latest object that had caught her interest. It was a stall showcasing a variety of jewelry pieces that came from some famous artisan in Mistral.
"Wow!" exclaimed Marigold, staring at a necklace in a display case.
Jaune, with some relief, noted that it wasn't the most expensive thing on display, but it was pricy all the same. His account was beginning to fill up again, but he was still in the process of recovering from the sum he'd dumped into the outfit Yukimura had made for him. As such, the necklace on display would set him back a fair bit, but wouldn't completely wipe out his finances.
I'd like to go without needing Ruby and the others to pay for our meals out for a little while longer, thought Jaune wryly.
As he'd expected, Marigold quickly whipped her head around to look plaintively at him. "Can I get this?"
"You can," said Jaune, reaching out to ruffle her hair. "But remember what I told you?"
Marigold's smile faltered a little.
"You get one gift," said Jaune, his voice firm. "If you want this, then that's it. Are you gonna be okay? What if you see something later you want even more?"
The certainty on Marigold's face wavered.
"Remember, even if you don't find something else you'd like more, we can still come back here and buy it later," Jaune pointed out.
Ruby leaned over to whisper into his ear. "What if someone else buys it first?" she asked. While she understood Jaune's reasoning, she knew that, if that happened, and Marigold settled on the necklace, only to come back and find it had been sold to someone else, she'd be devastated.
In answer to that, Jaune flagged down the pleasant-mannered, older woman running the stall, explaining the situation to her. The woman listened, and practically melted when she saw the plaintive look on Marigold's face. She happily promised to put the necklace on hold for the remainder of the day, laughing gayly at the sunny smile that lit up Marigold's face.
"Pretty smooth," Ruby whispered as they moved on, Marigold once again between them.
Jaune grinned playfully. "Welcome to being an older sibling. You're watching a veteran at work."
Ruby laughed, prompting Marigold to look up inquisitively, only for Ruby to flash a fond smile down at her.
It wasn't all that surprising that, the very day after reconciling with everyone, Marigold would be texting Jaune on his scroll, begging him to take her to the festival. Ruby had happily accompanied him, plenty infatuated with Marigold's cuteness already. It wasn't a date with Jaune, but, in some ways, it was even better.
Of course, being Saturday, the festival grounds were especially crowded. The next round of the tournament wouldn't commence until Monday. It was the weekend too, which didn't help matters. However, even if the tournament wasn't taking place, there was still plenty to see and do...even up in Amity.
Apparently, on off days, the coliseum staff led visitors on guided tours of the sections that they weren't normally allowed into, giving them a rare chance to see the inner workings of the architectural and technological wonder that was the giant, floating coliseum. On top of that, there were even live theater performances that took place in the arena, using the biome system to produce different environments to act as sets. In the evening, there would be a concert too. Yang was already champing at the bit to see The Achievemen live on stage, up in Amity.
Ruby couldn't help but find it amazing, the sheer scope of things on offer. This was the product of the festival that brought the people of all four Kingdoms together, pooling their resources and collective creativity to produce days upon days of once-in-a-lifetime experiences.
Someday...she hoped that the Mibu could be a part of that, probably as a fifth Kingdom. She would love for more of the clan's people to experience what the Kingdoms had to offer and, just as much, wanted the other Kingdoms to see the amazing things her adopted people could do.
It was beginning now. Somewhere, out there, in these crowds, Ruby knew her friends from home were out and about too, experiencing everything the festival had to offer, encountering new things that would excite and inspire them, things they would take back to Leng, and hopefully use to help Sasame convince the rest of the clan that the Mibu needn't live apart from the world.
For now though, Ruby was content to enjoy the time she was spending with Jaune and his sister. She was treasuring this feeling of spending the day with the boy she loved, and someone from his family. Perhaps she was getting ahead of herself, but Ruby couldn't help but entertain the fantasy that, someday, they would be doing this exact same thing, except it wouldn't be Jaune's little sister suspended between them, but one of their own children.
At that moment, Ruby was especially grateful that Sasame wasn't with them. Sasame was all too likely to catch Ruby's imaginings from her expression, and then tease her mercilessly about it. If her other friends were there, then they were just as likely to join in.
Thinking about her friends brought Ruby's mind around to Weiss and Ashley. The pair had gone off earlier, Weiss explaining that they needed to get new dresses for the gala. Yang had grumbled after they'd left, complaining that both Weiss and Ashley already had dresses. Pyrrha had quietly explained that, in high society, that sort of pragmatic reuse of previously-worn garments could be seen as a sign of weakness. Naturally, everyone agreed that such a sentiment was stupid, which made it all the more galling that Weiss and Ashley had to play along with it.
"You okay?" asked Jaune, his smile faltering as he noticed that Ruby had adopted a more pensive expression.
"Just a little worried about Weiss and Ashley," said Ruby.
"Yeah...they're gonna be running the gauntlet tonight, for sure," agreed Jaune.
Ruby nodded.
"Nothing we can do about it," said Jaune, his expression resigned. "That's Weiss' battleground. We're just gonna have to leave it to her."
Ruby nodded again. She did her best to shuck her worries. She didn't want Marigold to catch onto her unease after all. So she put a smile on her face, and returned her focus to the moment, laughing and smiling as Marigold started towing them towards the next thing that had caught her eye, and would probably have her begging them buy it for her.
Choosing and picking out their dresses had taken Weiss and Ashley a significant portion of the afternoon, mainly finding one that would go best with Ashley's tail. After finishing that task, they left the dresses to the shop's staff to make whatever alterations were necessary. The pair of them chose to go to a nearby restaurant for an early dinner. There would be food at the gala, of course, but mostly small offerings, canapés and the like. It wouldn't do for them to wind up trembling from hunger partway through what was already guaranteed to be a stressful event.
Of course, they also needed to eat lightly. It wouldn't do to be overfull and bloated either. Weiss knew well enough that such a stress-inducing setting was also capable of upsetting a full stomach, and knew that neither she nor Ashley wanted to put up with that kind of issue.
After dinner, they returned to the dress shop to retrieve, and don, their dresses. Ashley was a bit surprised by that, wondering why Weiss was having them change at the shop itself.
"Going back to Beacon would take unnecessarily long," explained Weiss. "And we couldn't exactly go back to your apartment to change either. That would make it even more of a spectacle, if we had to travel all the way over from the faunus quarter, dressed like that."
Ashley nodded in agreement. "So...are we going to take a taxi then?"
To her surprise, Weiss smiled slyly. "I've made arrangements. Don't worry."
A few minutes later, when the pair emerged from the shop in their new dresses, their regular outfits tucked away into a bag hanging from Weiss' arm, those arrangements became apparent.
A pure-white limousine was parked right at the edge of the curb, a familiar stocky, and slightly portly man standing beside the door. Ashley remembered him from that day at Amity. The man broke out into a radiant smile upon the sight of Weiss, the kind of smile that Ashley would expect from a proud father. From his manner alone, one would never have thought he was actually the butler to the Schnee family.
"Weiss, you look beautiful," declared Klein, sweeping her into a hug.
"Thank you, Klein," said Weiss, pulling away from him.
Klein's smile faltered, and he looked between Weiss and Ashley. "Are you sure you wish to go through with this?"
"I am," said Weiss.
"Your father will not take this well."
Weiss nodded. "I've decided that the time has come to stop caring about Father's preferences."
Klein swallowed nervously. "You're prepared then?"
"I am," said Weiss firmly.
Klein nodded. Then he opened the door into the back of the limo. "Then let us proceed."
Weiss and Ashley entered the passenger cabin, while Klein climbed into the driver's seat. A moment later, they were on their way. Ashley and Weiss waited in a tense silence, holding hands tightly.
Finally, it was Ashley who broke that silence. "Your butler's nice," she said.
Weiss smiled at that. "Klein is wonderful," she said. "He's the man who raised us after all. He was more of a father to us than our actual father was."
That felt like such a sad thing to Ashley, that a man who was, for all intents and purposes, hired help, had taken the role of parent in the eyes of a girl who wasn't his, while the man who'd actually sired her was seen as an adversary to overcome. However, Ashley supposed that was just one of the ways in which life for the rich and powerful could get so messed up.
Not that being in the lower classes is any guarantee of parental love either, thought Ashley. While she herself had been fortunate to be blessed with two loving parents, who were willing to make time for her, and indulge her wants occasionally, she'd seen how, even amongst people in their own income level, families could fall apart. Sometimes, it was the children she'd gone to school with. Other times, it was the neighbors in their own apartment building. There were children who almost never saw their parents, because said parents were working constantly to provide for them, or in an effort to raise them out of their current conditions. There were children who'd had one parent or another...or both...turn to alcohol to cope with the stress of their lot in life, sometimes with disastrous consequences. It seemed that those kinds of family problems were beyond class.
But this was still a unique situation. Weiss was going to a party hosted by her little brother. And she and Ashley were treating it like they were marching to the battlefield. Weiss spoke of Jacques Schnee, her own father, as someone they needed to counter or defeat. And the main reason for that was that, presently, Weiss was the presumptive heir to the Schnee Dust Company. Billions of lien hung in the balance, and the question of who that money would go to had turned siblings into something resembling enemies. It was an uncomfortable thought for Ashley.
Still, the fact that Weiss was willing to give that up for her, willing to risk the censure of her father and the machinations of her brother to stand by Ashley, thrilled the faunus-girl to the core. As such, her hand tightened a little more around Weiss' own, Weiss returning the favor. Ashley draped her tail over Weiss shoulders, and Weiss brought her free hand up to stroke through its soft, bushy fur.
For her part, what had Weiss the most uneasy was the notion of what she was throwing away. It wasn't losing her wealth and privilege as an heiress that really worried her. No...what troubled her the most, what made her stomach squirm and kept her up at nights, was the sensation that she was shirking her responsibility.
Jacques Schnee had turned the SDC into an economic powerhouse, securing a near-monopoly on the single most-important resource in the world, becoming the primary provider of most of the technology related to said material's usage. Thanks to him, the SDC was the most powerful corporation in the world, and he wielded untold influence across all four Kingdoms.
But all that wealth and power had been built upon the backs of all the laborers he'd exploited, the faunus first and foremost amongst them. When she had decided to take over the company, Weiss had decided that her biggest goal would be to change that. She had to make things right. It wasn't just about restoring the name and reputation of her family's company, but doing something for the people currently suffering under her father's yoke. But now...she was casting all that aside. As far as she knew, Whitley had no such benevolent ambitions, so there was every likelihood that allowing the company to be taken over by him would just result in more of the same. Was she really willing to allow that, simply for the sake of her own personal happiness?
But...maybe...that's not the only way to fight that injustice, thought Weiss.
Coming to Beacon had been about defying her father, breaking free to become her own person, outside his stifling influence. And it had worked beyond her wildest imaginings, in ways she'd never expected. Meeting Ruby and Blake in particular had been eye-opening in the most amazing way. Through Blake, Weiss had learned to see things through the eyes of faunus, including why the White Fang had become so violent. She'd come to genuinely respect the faunus' desire to fight for their rights. And through Ruby...Weiss had learned more about herself, things she'd never imagined.
And that, Weiss realized, was where the answer to her conundrum might lay. Here, in Vale, right now, there were people who could achieve nigh-miraculous feats without needing a speck of Dust, people who had learned to tap into the power of their Auras, hailing from a culture that had built their entire civilization upon that power. If awareness of that power were spread, then...
Weiss found herself smiling at the idea.
The ride to The Grand Silmaril was both too long and too short for their tastes. On one hand, the situation was such that it was hard for Ashley and Weiss to hold a conversation, both being mostly silenced by the tension. However, at the same time, they would have liked it to be a little longer before they had to emerge to face the trials that awaited them.
Still, the die had been cast. About half an hour after they had left the dress shop, the limousine came to a stop, and Klein opened the door, politely offering each of them a hand out. Weiss emerged first, followed by Ashley. When she stood on the sidewalk, Ashley paused, realizing that Klein had yet to release her hand. She looked at him questioningly.
"I hope that you and Weiss are able to make this work," he said softly.
"Me too," said Ashley.
Klein took her hand in both of his, squeezing it tightly. "Please...look after her as best you can. That's all I ask."
"I will," said Ashley.
"Thank you," said Klein, smiling up at her. "It would be my great pleasure to welcome you to our family."
A warm feeling arose in the pit of Ashley's stomach. When Klein said that, he wasn't talking about the Schnee Family, but the closer, more intimate family between him, Weiss, and Winter. That was a family that Ashley looked forward to joining far more than the idea of ever becoming part of the Schnee Family.
Releasing her hand, Klein bowed to her, then turned to enter the driver's seat of the limo once again. The car pulled away from the curb, and Ashley went to join Weiss, who was waiting at the door. Weiss didn't bother asking what Klein had been talking to her about. The smile on her face told Ashley that Weiss knew well enough.
Above them loomed the palatial facade of The Grand Silmaril, sometimes called the "Peerless Jewel of Vale." Ashley had seen the outside of this hotel before, occasionally, though it was in a part of town she rarely ever came to. She'd also seen shots of the interior on the network. Like just about any person, she had even entertained the fantasy of entering its doors as a guest, and partaking of the lavish accommodations and services the hotel offered.
Entering through the front doors of the lobby, Weiss and Ashley could see that the hotel's nickname was well-deserved. It was a sight to put the likes of The Atlas Imperial to shame, from Weiss' perspective. Light from several chandeliers streamed down, the facets of the crystals hanging from the fixtures throwing glittering motes across the floor. On either side of the lobby, large fountains sent sprays of water flying into the air, only to descend onto crystal platforms, striking them with musical sounds, producing a continual song that filled the lobby in place of the standard pop-music most hotel lobbies piped through their speakers. Their walk took them across a floor that seemed to have been hewn from a single piece of white marble. The open spaces around the lobby were occupied by plush seats, arranged around ornate tables. There was a full-service bar dominating one side of the room, while a restaurant waited on the other.
"Wow..." whispered Ashley, unable to stop her eyes from roving over the sight of everything.
"They certainly live up to their reputation," said Weiss.
The pair made their way to the concierge desk, where a man in a red suit, decorated with gold buttons, awaited.
"How can I help you?" he asked with a polite smile, not even batting an eyelid at the sight of a faunus in this upscale scenery.
They train their people well, Weiss thought. "Weiss Schnee and Ashley Forrest," she said. "We are here for the gala being hosted by my brother, Whitley."
"I see," said the concierge, nodding his head politely. He activated an interface behind the desk. "Master Schnee has been notified of your arrival. The ballroom elevator is down the hallway to your right."
"Thank you," said Weiss, leading Ashley away from the desk.
"The ballroom has its own elevator?" asked Ashley.
"In this case, it's a bit more practical," said Weiss. "The ballroom often hosts exclusive events, so having separate elevators solely to access it prevents unwanted individuals from trying to sneak in."
"So that's why you've gotta clear it with the man up front," said Ashley.
Weiss nodded. She led Ashley down the hallway indicated by the concierge, holding up her scroll, which interfaced with the panel to allow her access. A few seconds later, the doors pulled open, and the pair stepped inside. The interior of the elevator was substantial, easily able to hold over a dozen of people at once; likely a concession to it being the only non-staff access route to the ballroom, ensuring that people didn't need to wait as the elevator ferried one small group after another up in a tedious process. Fortunately, right now, Weiss and Ashley had it to themselves, giving them one last respite, before they faced their trial for the night. Once the doors closed, there was only the faintest lurch, before the elevator began to rise.
"Are you ready for this?" asked Weiss, glancing at Ashley, who looked down nervously.
"I...I think so," said Ashley.
Weiss turned to face her, bringing her hands to Ashley's shoulders, bringing her in so that they could kiss. After a moment of lingering like that, Weiss pulled back, giving Ashley her most confident smile. "This is the day," she said. "It's a little earlier than we'd originally planned for, but if I'm going to give up my inheritance, we're going to do it in a way that really sticks it to Father and Whitley."
Ashley giggled. "Right..." In her mind, she thought the situation was somewhat amusing. If I'd joined the White Fang in earnest, landing this kind of hit on the head of the SDC would probably get me a ton of recognition.
Of course, that was considering the White Fang that wasn't run by Adam Taurus. In his view, anything less than killing Weiss on the spot would have been unacceptable. He'd marked Ashley for death merely for being Ruby's friend, so she didn't want to think about how fervently Adam would have liked to kill her for being Weiss' girlfriend.
But now wasn't the time for such thoughts. The two turned to face the doors, waiting until they opened. When they did, Weiss and Ashley strode forward confidently, entering into the ballroom.
It was a sight to inspire dreams and fire imaginations. The ballroom was an enormous space, encapsulated by a massive dome of windows, with an elaborate, crystal-decorated chandelier descending from the top and center. More lights hovered over the floor, free-floating Dust-lamps, providing warm illumination, just enough to make it easy to see (by human reckoning) without being harsh. Despite all the artificial light in the room, the windows displayed an unobstructed view of the night sky, not even seeming to reflect the light sources within the room itself. Strangely, despite being in downtown Vale, and all the light pollution that entailed, the sky seen through the dome was littered with stars, running through the sky above in milky streams, the kind of sight Weiss remembered seeing at night, back when she'd been on the SDC's freighter, out at sea, with virtually no competing light sources to block the stars out.
The room formed a massive circle, bounded by the descending windows of the dome, with the windows descending down to meet the floor along most of the room's circumference, broken only by a set of four projections of masonry, situated at the cardinal points of the room. One of those was the elevator Weiss and Ashley had arrived on. The others appeared to be service entrances of some kind, as each one was cordoned off in some way. Two were surrounded by large tables, bearing a variety of finger-foods, while the one on the far side of the room, opposite the elevator, hosted another bar, this one even more well-stocked than the one down in the lobby, shelves built into the wall on either side of the door, holding countless varieties of drink.
The floor was a work of art in its own right. Its surface was smooth, yet it didn't immediately look that way, as it caught the light descending from above, diffusing it into a variety of colors that seemed to wash along it, illuminating patterns of interlocking lines, which shifted and morphed as people's shadows passed over them, altering the way in which light engaged with the surface. Watching those shifting colors was almost completely enthralling in its own right.
Furthermore, the floor was marked out in a pair of concentric circles, dividing the room into two rings. The outer ring was clearly for the social aspect of the gala, where people ambled about, talking with one another, sampling dainties from the food tables, or watching the goings on in other parts of the room, gathering around other, smaller, tables set out to hold their dishes and glasses. The inner ring was a dance floor, where couples swirled about one another in a coordinated fashion that reminded Ashley of the Beacon Dance. In the center of the dance floor, with the couples waltzing around it, was a tiered stage, upon which sat the band, different sections occupying different tiers, all of them playing together.
The scene was stunning, like something out of a drama. The room was full of beautifully-dressed beautiful people. They were parading around finery that probably would have bankrupted Ashley's family, had she tried to imitate them. The dresses were magnificent, clearly made of the highest-quality fabric, some glittering with colorful highlights, or displaying scintillating patterns. Here and there were dresses or suits that appeared to have their own lighting effects, indicating the presence of Dust woven into the cloth, activating to produce unique visual features. And then…there was the jewelry. Rings embellished with gemstones, necklaces made from rare metals, earrings, bracelets, circlets; all of them combined to give the setting a fantastical air, even if it was nothing more than a great many rich people showing off their accumulated wealth.
Still, Weiss and Ashley didn't falter as they strode forward, Ashley's arm hooked through Weiss'. Their arrival turned heads in their immediate vicinity, and the whispers started up the second they walked forward. The people around them would certainly have plenty to talk about.
Weiss and Ashley had come in dresses that, while differing in color, sported the same form. They were both clad in full-length gowns, with a strapless top that left their shoulders bare. Weiss' arms were bare as well, but Ashley's were covered by opera gloves that ran nearly all the way up to her shoulders. Weiss' was white, with blue highlights, while Ashley's was a brilliant emerald-green. The only other difference between their ensembles was that Ashley's dress sported an opening at the back for her tail, which extended up proudly behind her, almost like a furry flag.
The way they'd coordinated their dresses, and the manner in which they entered the room, arm-in-arm, was a clear indicator of their status. Weiss Schnee, the one currently acknowledged as the heiress to the Schnee Dust Company, was openly displaying that she was in a relationship with a faunus. It was a sight to set tongues to wagging almost immediately.
Standing directly in front of them was none other than Whitley, decked out in a white, button-down shirt, over which he wore a pale-blue, sleeveless vest that matched his eyes in color. White pants covered his legs, and a slightly darker-blue tie hung around his neck. His eyes had widened for a fraction of a second, upon seeing Weiss and Ashley enter. But his expression returned to its signature smirk almost immediately.
"Hello, Weiss," said Whitley. "You have my gratitude for gracing us with your presence."
"Hello, Whitley," said Weiss back, matching his smirk with her own. "I'm glad to be here. Please allow me to introduce my escort. This is my girlfriend, Ashley Forrest."
Whitley chuckled. "You aren't mincing words, I see. So...you've decided to abandon all pretense this time."
"I simply felt that the time had come for me to be open about my relationship," said Weiss. "Let Father say what he will. My mind is made up."
"Well then..." said Whitley.
Weiss let go of Ashley's arm and moved to stand directly before her brother. "That having been said, let us not prolong the inevitable. My brother, Whitley, I hereby renounce my claim of inheritance to the Schnee Dust Company, and bequeath it to you. Please do your utmost to uphold the pride and dignity of our family."
Weiss extended her left hand and, after a second's hesitation, Whitley extended his own to take it, the two shaking firmly. After letting go, Weiss stepped back to stand beside Ashley.
Whitley stood, hand still extended, staring at it momentarily. His smirk twitched, widening into something more like a genuine smile. Then he began to chuckle, then laugh. It wasn't the cackle of some villain, whose plans had come to fruition, but rather the guffaws of someone who found something genuinely funny, the laughter of pure, good-natured, humor. Weiss' mouth actually opened slightly, betraying her shock. Never, in her entire life, had she ever seen her little brother laugh so genuinely. Whitley was laughing so hard that he actually began to bend forward, hugging his sides.
After another minute or so, he finally recovered his composure, his laughter fading back into chuckles, his slender frame still trembling from mirth-induced oscillations. Straightening up, Whitley favored Weiss and Ashley with the most genuine smile that Weiss could ever remember seeing on Whitley's face.
"I'm rather amazed you found that so amusing," noted Weiss.
"Well, how else could I react?" asked Whitley. "Here and now, I was just presented with everything that I sought on a silver platter. All my careful maneuverings and orchestrations, and you dashed them to pieces in such a way that, even though my every overarching goal for this evening was met, I can't help but feel that I still lost to you, Dear Sister. You may favor the rapier, but times like this make me believe that you would have been best-suited by a club."
"You always did call me a blunt instrument," grumbled Weiss.
"Given the way you're handling yourself tonight, can you really say that you aren't?" asked Whitley.
"Touché," admitted Weiss.
"Well, now that you've made your move, allow me to make one of mine in return," said Whitley, stepping closer to the pair.
To their surprise, he stood directly in front of Ashley, and held out a hand to her. Tentatively, Ashley extended her hand to meet his. Whitley took her right hand in his left, then rested his right over it. "Ms. Forrest, There is no question that a relationship with my sister comes with a great deal of baggage, even if she has decided to discard the largest part of it. It is my hope that you will do everything in your power to make her happy."
Both Weiss and Ashley were floored by the gesture. Whitley hadn't merely accepted Weiss relinquishing her claim to the SDC, but had gone on to openly demonstrate approval of her relationship with a faunus, in front of a crowd that could not have been said to be very faunus-friendly. The whispers around them rose in intensity.
"That was very kind of you," said Weiss, "uncharacteristically so. Are you prepared for the kind of backlash that's bound to bring?"
"I should say so," said Whitley, releasing Ashley's hand. "I know you equate me to Father, but I believe I have demonstrated that I am not as like him as you believe me to be."
"That's putting it mildly," said Weiss, still wrestling with amazement.
At the most, she'd been expecting a polite acknowledgment from her brother, meaningless words and inoffensive actions that would cement him as the gracious host, tolerating his sister's eccentricities. Instead, he had openly moved to express approval of Weiss' decisions, not merely her decision to hand the SDC over to him, but also of her choice of partner. By doing it in such a public setting, he had made a statement that could not be taken back, a statement that flew in the face of the views expressed by his and Weiss' father. Jacques would be livid that Weiss had openly admitted to being in a relationship with a faunus. His anger would be compounded by the fact that she had preempted him by handing over her inheritance to Whitley, before he had a chance to strip it from her as punishment. He would be more furious still to find out that Whitley had publicly expressed approval of it.
A brief lull fell over their conversation, before Whitley stepped back. "Well then, even though you brought things to a head much more quickly than I anticipated, it is my hope that you remain with us for the evening, Weiss. It would be a shame to waste all the trouble you've gone to."
"I agree," said Weiss. "Shall we, Ashley?"
Ashley took Weiss' arm once again, leaning against her. "Of course," she said, smiling cheerfully.
They headed away at an angle, making their way towards one of the food tables. Whitley watched them go, folding his arms behind his back. A few seconds later, he was joined by a familiar face.
"Well, that didn't go the way you expected," remarked Piper, clad in the same pink dress she'd worn to the Beacon dance.
"I should say not," said Whitley, letting out a sigh. "Honestly, Weiss is quite gifted at frustrating me. I hardly expected her to beat me at my own game, while remaining as blunt and barbaric as ever."
"And how were things supposed to go?" asked Piper.
Whitley chuckled. "Well, I imagined that Weiss and Ms. Forrest would arrive, still under the pretense of being 'just friends'. I imagined they would have awkwardly mingled, before some of my other guests maneuvered them away from one another. After that, it would simply be a matter of arranging things to provoke an outburst from Weiss that would announce her relationship to those present, which would bring about the expected mockery from most of the people here."
"And then you would swoop in, alongside us," guessed Piper. "We'd comfort Weiss and Ashley, while you stood up to those hoity toity types, demonstrating your support of her relationship, while basically saying you don't see faunus the same way your father does."
"Correct," said Whitley, shaking his head. "With that, I would have convinced Weiss that I have no intention of running things the way Father does."
"Because you made your support of her so open and public," mused Piper. "That's gonna be a tall order, you know. You're really going through with it?"
"Indeed," said Whitley. "Father's methods have certainly brought about incredible returns for our company. However, he has conditioned our investors to expect growth that is...unsustainable...in the long term. I suspect that actually matters very little to him. So long as he lives a prosperous life, basking in the wealth he has amassed, he will have little concern for the fate of the company very far beyond that. If it collapses into ruin one or two generations down the road, it won't matter to him, because he won't be around to be bothered by it.
"Therefore, I made the decision to take the steps that will ensure the SDC's continued survival in the longer term. Part of that is changing the way our company deals with its employees, particularly the faunus."
"Really?" asked Piper, raising an eyebrow.
Whitley smirked. "Times are changing," he said. "The activities of the White Fang delayed it by a little, but there's no question that the status of the faunus is steadily improving. That will create a wave that will change the way everything is done across all four Kingdoms. If we simply wait, and try to react when it happens, we will find our company sunk before we have a chance to adapt.
"On the other hand, if we look ahead, and take the appropriate steps, we can not only ride the wave, but drive it. The SDC will go from a force of faunus oppression to the world's greatest promoter of faunus equality, and we will become heroes for it. While we won't see the kind of absurd gains we did under Father's management, we will have a solid foundation of public approval that will help to drive our business for generations to come."
"How self-serving," said Piper.
"Did you expect anything less of me?" asked Whitley.
Piper giggled. "I suppose not," she said. "So, what now?"
"Well, now I simply intend to enjoy myself to the best of my ability tonight," said Whitley. "The planned entertainment is a wash, so I shall just have to do my own entertaining. To that end..." He turned towards Piper and held out his hand towards her. "Ms. Cerny, would you do me the honor of a dance?"
Piper smiled back, taking his hand in her own. "It would be my pleasure, Mr. Schnee."
They headed to the dance floor and allowed themselves to be swept up in the music.
Status de energia semanal
-- Ranking de
Poder 
-- Pedra de
Poder