Honeybee

Chapter One: Welcome to Beacon

Her golden eyes flickered, focusing on everything in the room besides the old man sitting directly in front of her. She hadn't looked at him the whole time he was talking to her about her dead parents and the passing of the estate to her, their only daughter. He cleared his throat, and out of guilt, she finally let her gaze meet his frown. Perhaps it was some sort of pity he felt for her that she could read on his face, but regardless, she forced herself to pay careful attention to the words that rolled off his tongue.

"As directed by Mr. and Mrs. Belladonna," he sighed heavily, "I must inform you of their wishes to send you to Beacon Academy using a portion of the estate."

Blake's brows scrunched together in confusion. "Excuse me?"

"Your father and mother have set aside an allotment in order to send you to Beacon Academy." When he saw the young girl's eyes widen, he continued, "It is written in their will that you attend Beacon to complete your secondary education should they perish before then."

"But sir, I'm already enrolled in Atlas Academy," she mustered, sitting straight up in her chair. "And I'm almost finished with high school. What's the use in sending me to a school that's just as good as the one I'm at now?"

"Miss Belladonna," he replied, "I am sorry, but I'm afraid I must carry through with your parents' desires for you, as you have yet to turn eighteen until the following summer."

She had never felt so angry for being born in July. "Does it really have to be this way?" she asked, already knowing the answer. The legality of the issue crushed her.

"Indeed. Their wishes are explained in full in the wills here, which you may read over. There is naught I can do to change the situation, Miss Belladonna." Blake looked down at her hands. "If this is what your parents wished for, it would be a dishonor not to respect their desires for you."

She knew he was right, but not why he was right. "I just don't understand why they would send me away," she muttered.

"I can't answer that question, unfortunately." With a solemn sigh, the man handed her parents' wills over and stood. "I'll see to it that your move may be as efficient and pleasant as possible, Miss Belladonna."

As if moving could ever be pleasant. After she watched Charles, the family's long-trusted estate administrator, walk out of her father's small library, she sunk into her chair and looked at the chandelier that dangled above her. Part of her wished it would fall right then and there just to get her out of her miserable state. Moving across the country just to attend Beacon, the academy her parents had both attended, seemed so stupid to her. Atlas was just as good, if not better, and here it was cold and gray, the way she liked it.

In the ending weeks of summer, Blake tried her best to be optimistic about the situation. But she had always been just the opposite. Thinking positively was hard and she wasn't used to it. As she watched the movers pack away the last of her belongings, she frowned to herself, thinking about how different her life would be as soon as she touched down in the sunny, arid state of California. The Belladonna family had only visited a few times and very briefly, so she was unfamiliar with the area. And to be traveling alone, without a friend, only frightened her even more. I can't be sure why they would want me to go to Beacon. Was Charles hiding something from her? She had read the wills in full, but could there have been something she missed? Even if she had, this was reality, and she had to deal with it.

With a sense of trepidation and anxiety, Blake opened the door.

Even though class was set to start in ten minutes, there were a few students scattered about the room. Each person chose something about her to stare at: her long and silky black hair, her slender figure, her pale skin. Blake made sure to look directly at the teacher, Mrs. Glynda Goodwitch, but everyone's eyes felt heavy, almost intruding. She couldn't be sure how old Mrs. Goodwitch was; if she was old, she'd aged gracefully, as she still looked quite youthful. With her blonde hair pulled back into a neat bun and adorned by a professional dress, Goodwitch shook Blake's hand graciously, giving her a small smile.

"You must be Miss Belladonna," she greeted.

"Yes, I'm Blake," the girl nodded, her lips forming into a polite grin.

"Class is going to start in a few minutes. Why don't you pick out a seat? We change spots every quarter, so make sure you're sitting next to someone you'd like to work with."

She wasn't sure quite how to do that if she didn't know anyone at this school, but she nodded her head and turned to see which spots were open. Scanning the room, she noticed that the majority of the talkative people—at least that's what she judged them to be, since they were chatting so noisily at 7:30 in the morning—sat in the middle. She debated sitting against the window, but she figured she'd be distracted by something if she did. In the back, there sat a brunette girl… and was that red on the tips of her hair? She smiled at Blake and waved at her to sit by her. Walking over to her, she managed to give her a wan smile.

"Good morning! What's your name?" the girl asked, her voice energetic and perky.

"I'm Blake," the black-haired girl answered.

"I'm Ruby, Ruby Rose. It's nice to meet you," she grinned as she stuck her hand out. Blake shook it firmly and took the seat next to her. "You're new, aren't you?"

"Is it that obvious?" she asked, not trying to sound sarcastic.

"No, it's just that I've never seen you before is all. But that's okay. Where are you from?"

She took a deep breath. "I moved from Atlas Academy, actually. You might kn—"

"Atlas? Really?" Ruby gawked at her in awe. "You went to Atlas? That's all the way on the East Coast!"

"Yes," Blake replied, smoothing out her hair. It had become a habit for her to do that when she felt nervous. "I just moved a few days ago here."

"Wow," the girl smiled. "That's pretty cool. Well, welcome to Beacon Academy! I hope you like it here."

I hope so too, Blake prayed to herself. The seats were filling in quickly as students started to shuffle in the room.

"It looks like class is about ready to start," Ruby noted. "We can talk more afterwards. Mrs. Goodwitch always makes us do stuff on syllabus day."

Although Blake missed Atlas dearly, she reveled in the beauty of Beacon. Being a California high school, Beacon was spread out over a few acres. Classes were placed in separate buildings and departments, with the courtyard, cafeteria, and union building in the center. To the southeast, Beacon boasted its huge stadium and the amphitheater only a few minutes away. The golden-eyed girl had heard greatly from her other friends that Beacon was a gorgeous school, but she had never been able to comprehend its beauty until she came. Atlas had its huge halls, its aged walls, and tall, beautiful trees that grew nearly everywhere. But here at Beacon, Blake could enjoy the sway of the palm trees, the rays of the sun, and the faint ocean breeze that blew past. She always thought she liked colder, milder weather; no more, not here.

For lunch, Ruby accompanied Blake to the amphitheater. Most days, many students would fill the area with bantering and athletic activities. But for today, it was fairly empty, giving the two girls some peace and quiet. Blake hadn't made herself her own lunch in a while, usually relying on her mother to do that, and packed herself a tuna sandwich. Ruby munched on a hamburger she had bought from the school cafeteria.

"So, why are you here at Beacon?" Ruby said in between her bites, turning excitedly to her new acquaintance.

Blake tried to smile, but she stared down at the fish sandwich in her hands. "It's complicated. I had to because of my family."

"Oh," the other girl murmured. She took another bite and continued, "Is it too personal to ask?"

"Well, it's just…"

Silence.

"Yes. I'm sorry. Maybe I'll tell you some other time," Blake apologized. She didn't know if she could exactly trust Ruby yet, even with how nice she was to her in Calculus this morning.

"That's okay," the brunette smiled. "Anyway, I'm glad you're here. How were your other classes?"

Blake recounted her morning. "Well, Calculus was okay. I'm okay at math, so it wasn't so bad. I really enjoy having Physics right after it. I can connect the math and the science. Anatomy is pretty hard so far."

"But it's syllabus day today."

"The teacher gave us stuff to do. Mr. Oobleck sure does talk a lot," she sighed, thinking about the packet from anatomy he'd assigned earlier this morning. "My social studies classes are in the afternoon."

"Huh, that's great I guess." Ruby crumbled the wrapper in her hands. She aimed at the trash can a good twenty feet down the steps and threw as best as she could.

The piece of trash hit a head of white, and sapphire eyes immediately pierced both of the girls at the same time.

"Ruby Rose!" a high-pitched voice emitted. "What on Earth are you trying to do?!"

Jumping to her feet in an instant, Ruby ran down the steps over to the girl. Blake noticed how her hair was extremely… white. It wasn't a gray or even a silver, but white, as pure as snow. Her skin matched, and those eyes, a deep blue, seemed filled with rage, and yet, they seemed cold. "I'm sorry! I didn't mean to hit you…" Ruby apologized.

Tearing her gaze away from Ruby, the other girl looked up at Blake. "You're not going to do anything?"

Before Blake could form a reply, Ruby cut in. "Hey, it was my mistake. Don't pull her into it."

She sneered. "Obviously, I just hadn't noticed her before." Turning her head back to Ruby, she barked, "You'd do well to remember, I'm a Schnee, Ruby Rose. And pick up your trash, why don't you? You dolt."

"I heard you," she answered, doing just as the Schnee girl asked.

"It's the first day of school and I'm already running into idiots like you. How pathetic," she whined, dusting off her skirt, not that there was anything on it. She seemed to have forgotten that Blake stood, watching the catfight before her.

Crossing her arms, Ruby took a step back, feeling defensive. "You could try to be nice and stop acting privileged for once."

"Acting?" She cackled and Blake nearly lost it. "God, you insolent little mouse! I'm Weiss Schnee, Ruby, and I don't have to stop acting. Besides, between the both of us, aren't you the little sophomore who's in senior classes because you're such a brainiac? What a privilege it must be to be miss smarty-pants." Weiss raised an eyebrow, taunting her with every move of her body.

Here, the smaller brunette clenched her fists and had them pinned at her sides. "I'm not a brainiac."

"Clearly, since you can't even think to stand up, walk, and then throw your trash." The school bell rang, signaling the end of the lunch period. "I hope to encounter you next time when you're not so braindead." Glaring at her, she made her way out of the amphitheater and back towards her classes.

Blake hurried herself over to Ruby and frowned. Although Weiss' scathing words seemed to do hardly any damage to her exterior, she couldn't help but wonder if she had been deeply offended. "That was really rude of her."

"Well, I did throw a piece of trash at her."

"That was an accident, Ruby," Blake defended her. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah. That's how Weiss is," she puffed, fixing her hair. "She's the heiress of some huge diamond company and she's super rich. She's from Atlas too, but her parents insisted attending Beacon because we're the better school."

Blake wasn't sure if she could believe it, but for now, she only nodded her head. "We should try to stay away from her."

"Oh, trust me, I do my best." Ruby rolled her eyes. "Weiss has always been mean like that. I swear it's just a front to hide something underneath it all."

Blake nodded. She wondered how anyone could be so cold, but then she thought about herself and how antisocial and lonesome she could be. Maybe Weiss was having a bad day, a really, really bad day. Suddenly, she remembered something. "Why didn't you tell me you were a sophomore?" Blake asked as they started towards their respective classes. "I thought you were a senior like me."

She expected her acquaintance to feel anything but embarrassed. "I don't like the attention it brings me."

"But it's impressive."

"But it's really just… I don't know, I don't care. Sure, I take senior classes and stuff like that, but…" They stopped walking. "I'm just a normal girl with normal knees, you know?" Her silver eyes seemed to find everything but Blake, indicating her discomfort with the topic.

"I understand." The two stood in the courtyard. Unfolding a piece of paper she had placed in her skirt pocket, she pointed at a part and asked, "Where is this class?"

"Oh, you have Mr. Port next for English? It's just down this building," Ruby nodded towards the row of classrooms. "You can always find the English department. It's right next to the courtyard."

"Thanks."

"It looks like we don't share any other classes. But I bet we'll see each other around," she beamed, her smile infectious. "I'll see you tomorrow!"

"Yes. I'll see you tomorrow," she smiled.

Before Blake's arrival, Charles had asked for her parents' beach house to be visited and cleaned thoroughly to ensure a proper stay for the young lady. As a result, the house overlooking the Pacific Ocean had everything she'd need, from a blender to food and other useful household items. The only things that were missing were her parents. When she opened the door, she expected to hear the faint sounds of activity within the house, but it was dead silent. Her chest felt like it would cave in, even though it was September now and they had passed away in mid-July. As grand as their home should be, it wasn't, and it was because it was just Blake, alone.

She finished her shower and went to the kitchen to fix herself some dinner. Conveniently, Charles had ensured the maids placed some TV dinners in the freezer to make things easier when she started school. Easily, she threw a small dish of spaghetti into the microwave and wandered around the house. The beach house had always seemed so much bigger as a kid, but so did everything else. Blake opened the back door and walked over to her patio. From here, she could see the enormous strength of the waves as they crashed against the sand. In the distance, the sun was beginning its descent and rays of red, orange, and purple scattered themselves amongst the clouds. She definitely didn't see these sunsets in Boston.

After she ate dinner, she took out the homework from Calculus and Anatomy and got to work. Before she knew it, a few hours had died away in silence, save for the scratch of her pen against the paper. She crawled into bed and shut her eyes, wondering if this was how her life was going to be for the next year before she could go back home. For now, this would be her home. I might as well try to make myself comfortable.

The next week passed by as easily as it could have. While a good portion of the Beacon student body had noticed their new peer, most people minded their own business. Blake had seen Weiss Schnee here and there, and what Ruby had mentioned at their first meeting was true. She could literally smell how rich the girl was. In passing, they never did more than glance at one another, but Blake could smell her imported perfume and hear the jingle of those expensive bracelets. The Schnee Diamond Company had sounded very familiar, especially since her family, too, was based near Atlas. She tried to pay her no mind as much as possible.

One day, as Blake and Ruby ate their lunch on the steps of the amphitheater, the younger girl asked a curious question. "Hey Blake? What are your favorite hobbies and stuff like that?"

"Huh?"

"Like, what do you like to do on your free time?"

She had to think. "Well… I do read a lot of books. I thoroughly enjoy literature."

"Really?" Ruby grinned, chewing her food and quickly swallowing. "My sister used to read books to me all the time when I was little. I love books too!"

She couldn't help but smile. It felt good knowing someone had the same passion. "Yes, they are very important. I like to write as well. Sometimes I paint. Most days I just study a lot so I don't really get the time."

"You paint too?" Ruby cocked her head to the side, clearly interested. "Do you have any of your work on you?"

"No," Blake chuckled. "That would be difficult to bring to school. I paint on canvas of course. I'm not very good with watercolor and I prefer oils."

Clearly, Ruby had no idea what she meant, but she nodded her head encouragingly. "I'm pretty dang impressed!"

"Why do you ask?"

"I was just curious. We all have something we like to do. For you, it seems to be writing and art." She put away the rest of her lunch and looked out to the field. There were more people out here today, throwing frisbees, a ball, something. They weren't alone today. "Ugh, look," she suddenly groaned. "It's Weiss."

Blake followed her eyes and saw Weiss chatting with a boy who wore flamboyantly bright blue hair. He seemed to be attracted to her, leaning closer against the wall just so he could close the space in between the both of them. She could hear her childish giggle from where she sat, noticing just how polite she was to him. "It seems her personality can really change when she's around other people."

"Yeah, when she's around a dude," Ruby complained. "She's been trying to hit on Neptune for weeks."

"His name is Neptune?"

"Yeah, I know it's kind of weird. I can't stand someone like Weiss. I don't know how she could ever be so rude!"

Soon after, Weiss left Neptune by himself to go back to her classes, spotting Ruby and Blake once again. She frowned at them and stopped just in front of them. "Talking about me again, I bet?"

"Not at all," Blake spoke up, trying to avoid her jabs.

The white-haired girl narrowed her eyes, putting both hands on her hips. "We haven't yet spoken to one another, I don't think," she observed. "But you're Blake Belladonna, a transfer student from Atlas."

"Yes."

"And how do you like Beacon so far?" Weiss asked, relaxing her shoulders and crossing her arms instead. "Is it very different from Atlas?"

"As different as it can be," Blake answered quickly. Quickly, she looked at Ruby, who did everything in her power to remain as silent as possible.

"Hmm," Weiss hummed. "I imagine you don't have many friends here yet, then. Well, it's best not to get on a Schnee's bad side. I wouldn't be someone you'd want to deal with, isn't that right, Ruby Rose?"

Ruby's head snapped up immediately and Blake was worried she'd throw a punch. "Can't you just leave us alone, Weiss? Don't you have more important things, like Neptune?"

"Neptune?" She seemed genuinely surprised, until she smirked. "Oh please. Neptune's just another boy."

"They're all just boys to you," Ruby muttered under her breath.

"Excuse me?"

"We should get to class," Blake suggested, standing so that she was taller than Weiss. In a book, she had read that being on a higher plane could intimidate someone, but that didn't work here. "Lunch is ending pretty soon."

"You seem to find escape routes fairly easily," the rich girl taunted, turning her head. "Perhaps we can speak, alone." She looked back at Blake. "I'd like to speak with an Atlesian student."

Ruby tugged at her sleeve. She hadn't even noticed Ruby stood as she spoke to the other girl. "Let's get going, the bell—" And right then, the bell rung, but it was the second bell, meaning class was starting. "Oh, god, Blake, we're going to late to class!"

"Oh, you idiots!" Weiss exclaimed.

In an instant, the three girls were running to their classrooms. For Weiss, she had to travel all the way across campus to get to the math department, leaving Ruby and Blake behind near the courtyard. She hadn't left them without a few harmful words, and a strange glare sent towards Blake. But that mattered little now. How could she have missed the first bell? The raven-haired girl cursed in her head, wishing she wouldn't embarrass herself as the new senior who came tardy to class. As she rounded the corner to Mr. Port's class, she clashed into something yellow, something hard, and heard a yelp.

She fell back, the impact blowing her back a few feet. Sitting up on her bottom, she shook her head vigorously to get her senses back, only to have Ruby screech.

"Blake! Are you okay?" Ruby asked, helping her up quickly.

"Yeah, I'm fine, just—" Blake shut up as soon as she noticed she had knocked a person, hard, and straight into a trash can.

Ruby looked up and wailed, "God, what is it with the trash cans?!"

They were both about to run, as more time had elapsed since the last bell, but the trash can moved. No, that's what Blake thought. The girl in the trash can moved. As she stood, she tried to get off as much of the trash as possible, but as lunch had just ended, an unfortunate amount of scraps and waste clung to her skin. She stood tall, athletic and muscular, with long, thick blonde hair that flowed until it reached her hips. If she wasn't soiled in trash, she'd be incredibly gorgeous. Quickly, her hand flew until it reached Blake's shirt. Emitting a gasp, she found herself to be dangling a few inches up in the air. Red eyes glared intensely. They reminded Blake of fire.

"What the Hell do you think you're doing, running around like that?!" the stranger growled, her grip tightening. Blake was thankful it was only her shirt and not her neck.

"Hey, let me go, it was an accident!" Blake pleaded. Fear crept into every nook and crevice of her body.

"Accident my ass! Who are you and what do you think you're doing?" Her voice was heavy with anger, threatening Blake with every syllable that rolled off her tongue.

"What's going on?" A few students—also running late to their classes—gathered around to see. Soon enough, a crowd had circled around, eager to watch the showdown. "That's…"

Blake grabbed her hand, tapping it several times to ask to be put down. "Please, I—"

"You punk. You bumped me and shoved me into a trash can!" Her words escaped between gritted teeth. "If you seriously think I'll just put you down like—"

"Please!" Ruby yelled, pushing through the crowd to reach the two of them in the small breezeway. "Yang, put her down!"

"You know her?" Blake looked back at Ruby, her face gone pale.

"Blake… Blake, that's my sister…"

Sister?!

"Yang, put her down!" she repeated. Ruby pulled at the blonde, and in a few seconds, Blake's feet finally touched the ground.

"Ruby, stay out of this!"

Somehow, Mrs. Goodwitch, who was walking back to her classroom after her own lunch break, caught sight of the three and broke the crowd apart, sending them to their classes. With a disappointed look, she eyed all three of them. "Mr. Ozpin's, now."

Blake Belladonna felt her stomach leap into her throat, looking at Ruby, then at those eyes that burned.

A/N: Hello all! Thank you for reading the first chapter of my new story. This is my first fanfiction (ever), so please leave a review. Any updates will be posted on my profile page. Until next time!