Hello, and welcome to another exciting installment of Petals in the Snow!

So, umm… I know it's been quite a while between chapters, and I know that some of you are likely upset with me. I feel the need to apologize to all of you. For the longest time, I've promised regular updates over and over and I never deliver. Many times, I have tried to sit down and write, and it just wasn't turning out right. On top of that, school has been extremely stressful the last couple of weeks, making sure all of my grades are high enough before finals, and to make matters worse, even if I had the inspiration to write, I have had no way of writing for several months now, because I have been without good internet. I just want to apologize for not updating in the longest time and hope that y'all can forgive me.

Enough of me carrying on, however. Let's get to what you all came here for.

When we last saw our beloved heroines, they had come together for a heart to heart meeting and were interrupted by an angry papa Schnee.

Will Weiss and Ruby be able to stay together under the torrent of a vehement Jacques? Plus, an unexpected visitor. All of this, and so much more, right now, on Petals in the Snow!

"Thoughts"

"Whisper"

Weiss and Ruby stood up quietly and turned around to face the man who had just barged into their room, uninvited. "Well," thought Weiss as she met her father's scornful gaze. "It seems that I'll have to face this much sooner than I thought…"

"We need to talk," said Jacques as he stood in the doorway of the dorm room, glaring at the two as they turned to face him.

Weiss said nothing. She simply stood cemented in place. Rigidly, she awaited her father's next move, her hand still entangled in her girlfriend's.

"Well," asked Jacques expectantly as he stepped toward them aggressively. "What, have you forgotten your manners while you've been gone? It's disrespectful to not address your elders."

"No, father," said Weiss coyly. "I simply don't know what you wish to talk about."

"Oh, don't you play dumb with me young lady," said Jacques angrily. "You know damn well what I'm here for!"

"Honestly, father," said Weiss nonchalantly. "I don't know why you're here, seeing as I've done nothing wrong." As she said this, Weiss remained emotionless.

"Nothing wrong," demanded Jacques angrily. "Nothing wrong? Have you lost your mind, young lady?"

"Not at all, father," said Weiss coldly. "I am perfectly sane."

"Weiss," demanded Jacques. "I don't know when you decided to put your scandalous interests before the good of the company, and frankly, I don't give a damn. What is going to happen, though, is you are going to come back with me to atlas where we can discuss your future further."

'No, father," said Weiss sternly. "I'm not going anywhere."

"Young lady, how dare you defy me," snapped Jacques. "This is not a matter of discussion! Now, you are coming with me!"

Before Weiss had a chance to react, Jacques stormed over to her and abruptly grasped her arm tightly, eliciting a pained yelp out of the heiress. "Let go of me," she cried angrily. "That hurts!"

Ruby quickly stepped out from behind Weiss and in between the heiress and her father. "Let go of her," she said slowly, in a low, angry voice. Instinctively she slowly reached behind her back for a weapon that wasn't there. Upon realizing the lack of weight on her back, Ruby, instead, assumed an advanced hand-to-hand fighting stance Professor Goodwitch had been teaching them in combat class, staring daggers at Jacques as she did so.

"Ruby," exclaimed Yang. "What are you doing? Stop!"

"I'm not going to let him take her from us!" she replied as a tear fell down her cheek. "From me…"

"You have some nerve, young la-" started Jacques as he turned his attention to the younger huntress. His sentence was stopped short with a crack of his voice, however, as he locked eyes with the silver-eyed girl. After several moments of tense standoff, Jacques grudgingly let go of Weiss's arm. He took a small step back and straightened his suit, glaring at Ruby.

Weiss straightened herself before turning Ruby to face her. She softly wiped the tear away from Ruby's cheek before she gingerly wrapped her arms around Ruby's neck and pulled the younger girl in close. "Thank you, Ruby," she said as she leaned in and lightly kissed Ruby on the lips. She lingered, savoring the moment, indifferent to the fact that her father was glaring angrily at them.

After several tense moments, Jacques loudly cleared his throat. "Excuse me, missy," he said, impatiently.

Feeling that she had provoked her father for long enough, Weiss reluctantly broke the kiss. Reverting her attention to the matter at hand, she turns back toward Jacques. "Now, father," she said in a calm, commanding voice, "are you going to continue to stand there and throw a tantrum like a child, or are we going to sit down and discuss this like adults?"

"Very well," he grumbled quietly. "I'll play along with your little game, for now, young lady, but watch your step. You may be a huntress, but you are still my daughter." Finishing his statement, he glared menacingly at Weiss.

"Ruby," started Weiss.

"Yeah," asked Ruby calmly.

"Could you help me arrange these chairs real quick?"

"Sure," responded the younger girl quickly. Weiss and Ruby then proceeded to rearrange the four chairs into a new formation. As Weiss put one of the chairs back at the desk, Ruby set two of the other three chairs side by side, facing the door. Weiss grabbed the other chair and set it a few feet away, facing it toward the other group of chairs.

As Weiss and Ruby were rearranging the room, Yang glanced out the window as a flicker of movement dashed by. Quietly she walked over to the window and met eyes with a crow as it landed on the window sill.

As she looked into the bird's eyes, she felt a certain sense of familiarity. She saw a measure of intelligence emanating from them. It was almost as if she had seen them before.

"Have… I seen that bird before," she thought slowly, standing in an almost trance. "No… No that's crazy! It's just a stupid bird." Still, she closed the blinds and turned back toward the rest of the room, feeling slightly uneasy about the whole situation.

Blake walked quietly over by Yang's side and gently wrapped her arm around her girlfriend, slightly worried by the expression on the girl's face.

"Now," said Weiss as she gestured to the lone-standing seat and looked at her father. "Shall we begin?"

Begrudgingly, Jacques sat down and crossed his legs. Looking up at the two girls, he clasped his hands together expectantly.

Weiss and Ruby sat down on the chairs opposite Jacques and laced their fingers together. "So, father," started Weiss, "let's start this again. You've expressed your distaste, yet you haven't explained the reason for it. Care to explain?"

As the three settled into the chairs, steps could be heard down the hallway. Blake and Yang walked over

Jacques sighed angrily. "I know I didn't raise you to be an idiot. Don't act like it!"

Weiss's expression turned on a dime, a twinge of anger pulling at her mouth. "And just when did you forget what it meant to be civilized, father?"

"Weiss," Ruby said cautiously, her voice low.

"I'll give you one last chance to answer my question. Otherwise, we're done here," said Weiss as she stood up.

"How dare you," exclaimed the man as he stood and stared into Weiss's eyes, inches from her face. "I have spent years of my life raising you and your disrespectful wretch of a sister!"

As the words left the man's mouth, the footsteps from the hallway reached the open door, and from the doorway, a pair of daggers was staring at Jacques from behind.

Yang looks up and has to stifle a gasp as she sees her uncle leaning against the doorframe, and she goes to bring attention to him, but Blake grabs her wrist. Looking over at the young faunus, she whispered, "What are you doing?"

"Don't," whispered Blake. "We shouldn't interrupt them. It'll just make it worse…"

Begrudgingly, Yang silently returned her attention to her teammates and the screaming man.

"I have given EVERYTHING to you! You have no fucking right to talk to me like that!"

"Funny you say that, because last I checked, you have RUINED the reputation of MY family," yelled Weiss in retort. "My family! A name which you stole from my mother in the form of false love! So don't! You! Dare! Sit there and say that you gave me everything! You STOLE EVERYTHING from my sister and me!"

"Pack. Your. Shit," said Jacques angrily. "You are coming home with me now, and you will not be allowed to see your little girlfriend, here."

"Like hell she is," exclaimed Ruby, standing up abruptly, evoking a gasp from her teammates.

"Ruby," exclaimed Weiss, concerned. "P-Please…"

"No," yelled Ruby as she got in Jacques's face. "I will NOT let you take her away from me! You have no fucking right!"

"You idiotic little bitch," said Jacques flatly as his voice began rising and he stood up. "You forget that she is my daughter. I can do whatever I damn well please to her. She is under my control. Not yours."

"No. She's. Not," said Ruby, almost growling. "She is a woman. Or maybe you forgot that fact because you never actually cared about her."

"And what the hell are you going on about, young woman," he asked, flatly.

"Oh, don't play dumb," said Ruby, smugly. "She's told me everything. How you told her mother how you only married her for her money. How you did everything in your power to control her. You never loved her. You just wanted a slave, and you're just pissed off because she isn't willing to do what you want anymore."

"How fucking dare you," yelled Jacques! "You don't know how much influence I truly have, bitch! You forget, I own the company where her money comes from. The largest distributor of dust in the world. I'll get your ass blackballed. Play that game if you dare"

At that moment, Qrow began slowly walking toward Jacques from behind, the demons raging in his eyes.

However, he stopped momentarily when Weiss spoke up. "You won't do anything. You're going to leave and never come back. I don't give a shit about your money. Go ahead and take it. My team. My beautiful girlfriend matter more to me than anything else. Now, leave."

"Oh," asked Jacques, angrily. "And what makes you think I care what you think?"

"That wasn't a request," said Weiss as her hands balled into fists, her eyes meeting Jacques's.

"I've had enough of this," said Jacques flatly. "You're coming with me. Pack up your shit, Say goodbye to your little bitch, and we are leaving."

Upon hearing that, Qrow walked up directly behind Jacques, his anger a blazing flame in his eyes.

"I'm not going anywh-," started Weiss before stopping short upon noticing the angry Qrow.

Jacques, upon realizing someone is standing behind him, turns and looks behind him only to jump out of his chair, away from Qrow.

A fire in his eyes, Qrow spoke slowly and flatly. "So… You got something against my niece?" asked Qrow angrily.

Alright, I feel like that's a good spot to stop. Things are definitely heating up for our team, so make sure you stick around to see more as it comes out. I'll do my best from now on to do one chapter per month, but of course, I can't promise it.

Before I go, I want to apologize one more time for the insanely long wait… I just could never get around to finishing the chapter, but hopefully, that will be changed from now on.

If you liked the chapter, let me know by favoriting, following, and reviewing!

A Brawl in the Families, and a final decision! All of this and much more on the next chapter of Petals in the Snow!