The door opened, and Winter wiped her smile off her face. She stood up and straightened herself out, putting on her most proper attitude for the quickly approaching welcoming party. She stepped off the bullhead, letting Marcus follow a step and a half behind her.

Marcus surveyed the few members of the household that had approached them, trying to gauge why Winter was so unhappy with this detour. He understood not being happy with being delayed, but she had made no mention of that being the main cause of her distress.

The approaching group consisted of two children, two men who appeared to be household guards, and a stocky man Marcus had originally thought was Winter's maligned father. As they got closer however, it wasn't hard to recognise the signs of a household servant.

"Lady Winter! It is lovely to see you once again." The servant said, jovially.

"Hello Klein." Winter replied, managing to spare the servant a smile. Her eyes travelled to her sister and brother. Her sister looked like she didn't know whether to be happy or angry to see her, and her brother wasn't really old enough yet to really know what was going on. "Hello Weiss," She inclined her head to her sister, "And hello to you too Whitely." She did the same for her brother.

Marcus simply stood silently beside her, wallowing in the awkwardness that had suddenly befallen the Schnee family. He glanced at the two guardsman who had accompanied the three others, only to find them in much the same situation as he was. They unfortunately seemed used to such exchanges, minutely rolling their eyes at the strained family. They caught his look, and shot him a smirk that told him everything he needed to know about his upcoming visit to the Schnee family's estate. He wasn't going to like it.

The moment dragged on for a few more uncomfortable moments before Klein cleared his throat and spoke once again. "A-and who is this… fine young man behind you?" As he spoke he directed an apologetic look to Marcus, trying to ease the familial tension by shifting the focus to him.

Winter began to speak, but Marcus beat her to the punch. "I am Sir Marcus Antony, pleasure to meet you all." He stepped past Winter, much to her dismay, and extended his hand first to Klein, then the two younger Schnees, and finally, much to everyone's surprise, the two guardsmen. Smiling warmly all the while.

Winter shot him a glare which he couldn't see, while at the same time, Klein returned his smile, happy to see that he was still capable of meeting generally friendly people. Weiss, surprised everyone by speaking up. "Are you a Hunstman?" She asked, staring up at him. She couldn't have been older than fourteen, but the resemblance to her sister was uncanny.

Marcus weighed his words, he wasn't technically a huntsman, but he was being prepared to become one. He would never claim to have experience with children, let alone teenagers, so he didn't really know how to approach the question. He glanced back at Winter before replying softly, "Of a sorts, and I have many a tale I could tell you about my exploits, and many more of your sister! If you'd like, I could tell you some later?" He felt a little patronizing with his words and tone, but Wiess didn't seem to mind at the moment as she nodded with restrained excitement. He turned his gaze to Whitley, wordlessly giving the same invitation to him. He simply nodded absently.

Winter looked astonished, whereas Klein was refreshed to see someone being kind to the Schnee siblings. Winter cleared her throat, intent on getting the conversation back on track. "Why are we here Klein?" She said coolly.

Klein looked up at her apologetically before saying slightly timidly "Your father wished to see you. About what I'm not sure, but he demanded that you be redirected here so he could talk to you." He looked at his feet for a moment, before perking up again. "Well, he has waited this long, so I think he can wait a little longer. Just so long as we keep it between us, yeah?" He gave everyone a little wink, and the two guardsmen chuckled. "Come on in, I'm sure you'd prefer to catch up inside and out of the cold. I'll prepare some refreshments.

Winter nodded, and followed the servant and her siblings inside. Marcus hung back and asked the two retreating guardsmen, "Are they always like that?" They turned to look at him, then at each other, before they shrugged.

"More so since Winter left, good luck." They gave him a smirk which he scoffed good naturedly at before they returned to their duties. Leaving Marcus to follow the Schnee's inside.

The building was already impressive from the outside, but its interior was obviously designed to impress. Wood was mixed with stonework and polished to an almost impossible sheen and dyed the colors of winter. It was beautiful, but rather gloomy and lifeless. Decorative suits of armor were spaced out amongst the halls, flanking fancy armoires or end tables. Servants flitted about, moving almost unseen throughout the mansion as Marcus speed walked to catch up with the main group. It all built up to an impressive gloss, but with no real substance, nothing to make the household feel warm.

Finally catching up, Marcus was once again subjected to an awkward silence made all the more infuriating thanks to large smile less family portraits hung on the walls. They reminded him of some of the paintings he had seen in Drangleic or Mirrah, but without any of the cheer or love. They simply put him in a bad mood.

Finally, Klein directed them to a large room, which was apparently used by the family to relax. It was well furnished with artsy divans and reclining chairs. As opposed to the polished blues of the halls, this room was a much nicer dark wood brown. Across one wall of the room, a large selection of wines and other various alcoholic bottles were placed like a honeycomb against the wall. Just next to that, sat a well maintained but apparently seldom used bar.

As Marcus was looking around, Winter and her siblings were getting reacquainted. Whitley greeted her cordially, as his father had taught him too, not really seeing any reason to go any further than that. That hurt Winter more than she was willing to admit, but she swallowed that emotion in the face of an angrier sibling. Weiss had decided to be angry with her, and she knew the reason. By joining the military Winter had effectively abandoned her to fend for herself against their father. Winter could just barely handle Whitley's indifference, but she never wanted to hurt Wiess.

Marcus was irked by the family's properness towards one another. They should act like they loved one another, not like they were right now. Though maybe it was his presence that was causing such issues, perhaps they simply wanted to keep up a proper persona in the face of a stranger? He would have left the room at the thought, but he knew he shouldn't go anywhere without Winter. So he really didn't know what he should do. He was more than a little lost, considering who he was and what was going on.

He could deal with political matters, monsters of the most terrifying and dangerous calibre, long journeys, and physical labour. But family matters that he had no stake in beyond wanting his friend to be happy were completely beyond him. It didn't help that his own experiences with his family had been nothing but positive. His father was a good rolemodel, his mother was the kindest person he had ever known, and his siblings were some of the greatest people he had ever known.

The thought made him frown. His family had long since fallen to madness and died. He could only pray that they hadn't been afflicted with the curse of the undead. That wasn't a malady he would wish on his worst enemy. And not just because they became undying. This was beginning to make him irrationally mad, but he knew that none of this was Winter's fault. At least, he knew that she didn't deserve to have his anger directed at her at this very moment.

Klein re-entered, thankfully jolting him from his none too happy thoughts. He came in with a veritable menagerie of drinks for the trio of Schnees as well as one for himself and one for Marcus, who stood a bit apart from the Schnee siblings. He sidled up next to Marcus, seemingly concerned for the troubled Schnee's, though he knew it really wasn't his place to intervene, so he contented himself with being a comforting presence.

Marcus sniffed his drink, and found it vaguely alcoholic, though somehow fruity at the same time. He glanced at Klein, who gave him a knowing look that spoke volumes of his thoughts on the reasons for their visit. Marcus nodded in thanks, interested to see how this time's drinks compared to his owns, before sipping at the drink, widening his eyes and just barely restrained himself from downing the incredible concoction. Klein seemed quite pleased with himself.

The Schnee's continued to simply stare at one another, neither touching their drinks nor voicing their issues. A large grandfather clock ticked away in the corner, counting down the awkward moments with annoying precision. At this point, Marcus was getting ready to slap one of them, if just to get them talking or to shift their anger onto him and not each other. Winter could just barely meet Weiss' eyes, though it took all of her self-control to do so. She was still in contact with her younger siblings, but she hadn't visited since she had joined Atlas academy.

Finally, a servant rushed in and spoke quickly to Winter, "Your father wishes to see you now." She said with a detached professionalism. It didn't make the situation any better. Winter shot Marcus a look saying 'don't do anything stupid' before standing up and following the servant out of the room.

Marcus looked about for a moment, Weiss looked at him expectantly, and Whitley sat politely, though disinterestedly. With a quick mental shrug, Marcus sat down in the chair Winter had previously occupied, marvelling at its cushioning. Everyone lived in such luxury in the future. He gave both children a kind smile and said, "I do believe I owe you a story, though I'm not sure how much time we will have."

Weiss smiled back, though it was a cold, professional kind of smile, no warmth to be seen. "Father will be occupied with Winter for quite some time, so I believe we have all the time you need to tell us your 'story.'" It wasn't hard for Marcus too see that she was excited, much like he was whenever the Loyce knights rode in parades during his own childhood. Though she was much more subdued, like she believed she wasn't allowed to express herself beyond being simply 'polite.'

Marcus nodded, and pulled Mira into his lap so he could pet her while he told his semi-fictitious story. He wanted to give her a real story, something that he had done that he would consider a great deed. But he was only a simple messenger. He had fought his share of demons, but if you truly wanted a glorious story you should speak to those who are glorious. Marcus would never consider himself worthy of the same regard that he held other knights in, but he had his share of adventures he could regale the young Schnee with, even if they were a little twisted.

"Alright then, but first, we must set the stage. My original occupation was that of a messenger. I would walk from country to country, gathering information and then returning to my homeland to make sure my people were kept up with the events of the world. At this time, I was young," He smirked, "Well, I was younger than I am now, let's not talk about me like I'm old. I had just left the walls of my beloved city, for the first time since I was knighted, and it was cold. I'm sure you both think you know what it is like to be cold, having grown up here in Atlas. But nothing could have compared to this bone chilling blizzard I was caught in."

He dramatically shivered to add effect, while absently igniting his pyromancy flame, causing both Schnee's eyes to widen. "It was so cold, I thought that death had claimed me. I thought I would wander this blinding blizzard for the rest of my miserable life, numb to all feeling and frost bitten beyond recognition." He let the fire in his hand dim until there was merely a spark sitting timidly in his palm. "I had almost given up hope, to make matters worse, the howls of cursed undead constantly-" Weiss held up a palm.

"Undead? You can't be serious?" She spoke, deadpan. Marcus just smirked and continued.

"Yes, my lady. Undead. Cursed men and women afflicted with the terrible Dark Sign. Driven to madness through immortality, constantly hunted down and killed for sport, only for them to rise again, closer to insanity. Many were cast from the walls of my city, left to wander the wastes for eternity, or until they eventually became merely husks of who and what they were. Once proud knights would become hollow, empty shells of my friends and family." He looked down sadly, no hint of deceit on his face.

"They constantly berated me, like they cursed me for allowing them to be abandoned. Even though they submitted willingly, knowing the dangers of losing one's mind, losing oneself so completely that they cannot recognize friend from foe, mother from demon. I could feel them close at my heels, I could hardly run, and I knew it would be a losing battle against the immortal throng if I turned to fight." Both Weiss and Whitley seemed disturbed by his description, it seemed to hit a little too close to home. Perhaps a relative of theirs had been afflicted with the curse, Marcus thought.

"But as always, destiny seemed to have other plans for me. Two great smoky black beasts bounded from the blizzard, hardly fazed by the relentless cold. They stood taller than this room and even the one above that. One, gave me a look that shook me to the core, I was afraid already, but something about this beast terrified me." The spark in his hand had slowly and steadily begun to reinvigorate itself, now around the size of a large candle.

"However, it wasn't there for me. It took its one look at me, and bounded off into the blizzard, rejoining its sibling in its hunt. I heard the sounds of clashing steel, growling and howling. But no Undead harried me in my mission any longer. The blizzard, mercifully, began to die down. I had survived another day. When I had completed my mission, and returned to my king, I informed him of the great beasts that lay as hunters in the frigid wastes. My King simply smiled and said, 'you are a fortunate soul to look upon Lud and Zallen and yet live, Marcus Antony. Were you any other man, they would have torn you to pieces. A mercy, so that you may not suffer the fate of so many who froze out in the wastes.'" Finally the Flame reignited into its full glory, covering most of his hand, before Marcus dismissed it entirely.

"I hope I've not disappointed you, with the story of one of the most harrowing moments of my life?" He asked with a small smile. Weiss didn't really seem to believe any of it, but the younger Schnee, Whitley seemed to simply enjoy being told a story.

"Where are you from Marcus, where all of this is possible? I mean, you meet giant Grimm, in a raging blizzard and survive? Undead? I thought you were going to tell us about a particularly dangerous Grimm or something…" Weiss asked, curiously.

"Eleum Loyce, and before you say anything, no you haven't heard of it. Nor would I expect anyone too. It's a place long lost to time." He raised an eyebrow, expecting more questions such as 'how do you know of this place then?' But they didn't come, instead, Weiss was looking above him at the two figures who had just entered the room.

Winter had returned, looking particularly rigid and controlled. Her meeting with her father must have gone poorly, Marcus lamented to himself. He still couldn't wrap his head around whatever issue was that the Schnee family had, but he supposed that he had only been here for a little over an hour. It simply frustrated him to see someone he respected so upset about the people she was supposed to rely on.

The other figure was the same servant that had called Winter out of the room. Marcus glared at her, though he knew that she didn't really deserve his ire. She was simply doing her duty, however she did provide a good outlet for his anger.

Winter strode up to him, and briskly muttered, "My father wishes to see you. Answer his questions but don't offer anything he doesn't ask for." She spoke quietly, so that her two younger siblings had to lean forward to try and eavesdrop. Whitley tried, but it wasn't hard for his inexperience to be noticed. Winter shot him a glare, which simply caused him to shrug before leaning back.

Marcus simply nodded and let the servant lead the way. Winter meanwhile, reassumed her seat and gave Weiss a long look. Despite her feelings of anger, the younger girl seemed to shrink ever so slightly under her older sister's gaze.

The servant silently led Marcus deeper into the mansion, where the decorations seemed to get more and more sparse. Marcus wondered if this was even the Schnee's home, as it seemed everything up to this point had been designed to show off and impress any visitors. But when you looked deeper it really didn't seem that lived in. Who knows, maybe the servants were simply very good at their job.

Marcus had already been wary of Winter's father before he had been summoned, but now he was simply on edge. They approached an ornate wooden door, which opened, revealing a large well-appointed office. Behind a large seemingly expensive desk, sat a tall, white haired man with a well-groomed mustache. Marcus walked into the room apprehensively, a fact that the seemingly inattentive man caught.

With a hidden smirk, Jacque Schnee stood up from his desk, moved around it in a few movements and outstretched his hand towards Marcus. All the while speaking with the voice of a practiced socialite. "The man out of time! Truly this is a momentous occasion. Please come, sit and we will talk." After shaking the man's hand, Jacque directed him to a chair sitting opposite his own desk chair. As Marcus went to sit down, the Schnee patriarch prepared two glasses of whiskey, complete with exactly two ice-cubes. As he turned around to step back towards his desk, Marcus spoke up.

"I hope this isn't rude, but how do you know who I am?" Marcus asked, eyes narrowed. He didn't suppose he could be confused with someone else who happened to be from another time, it was a pretty unique scenario to be in. However, he also didn't know how this man could possibly know about him.

"General Ironwood gave a statement to the media that they found someone alive buried under the ice that the military was clearing in order to create a new facility. Though he never went beyond that. It is a good thing I have my own sources of information then, huh?" Jacque smiled and slid one of the two glasses he held over to Marcus, who made a note to watch out for any potential spies. He was hoping that he wouldn't have to worry about these kinds of things in the future, but he supposed that the presence of military and terrorist groups should have tipped him off that things hadn't really changed since his day.

"I'm getting ahead of myself however, my name is Jacque Schnee. You've already met my children I can see. And while I'm eager to get to talking about you and your history, I would like to know why you are travelling with my daughter?" A hint of danger flashed across Jacque's eyes, but it was quickly smothered by a polite smile. Marcus thought it was a pretty stupid question, though he didn't give any visual clues to indicate that.

"She is my military escort, she is introducing me to this… time. Helping me get adjusted to my new life before they start questioning me about my old one." Marcus said, returning Jacque's disingenuous smile.

Jacque nodded, accepting the answer at face value, which Marcus was happy for. He had no problem with the Schnee patriarch as of yet, but there was most certainly something about him that set him off. Everything about him seemed the antithesis of the nobility in Forossa, he seemed more of a man of Miraah, as opposed to anyone respectable. The nobles of Forossa never shirked from their duty, even if they went about their various tasks in almost constant conflict with one another. They got down in the dirt like everyone else and worked if needed. But Jacque didn't seem to have a single callous on his perfectly manicured hand, and that irked the Loyce knight for some primal reason.

Jacque went on to ask him about his homeland, to which Marcus replied with all of the information he had already given to Ironwood and Winter. However, the man was persistent and curious. He effectively squeezed Marcus of any information, miniscule or otherwise, for some as of yet unknown agenda. Marcus wasn't afraid to answer his questions, choosing to give him the benefit of the doubt, out of respect for him as Winter's father.

"I've been meaning to ask, did you have Faunus in your time?" Jacque asked innocuously. Marcus squinted, though not out of suspicion. Faunus? Perhaps it was another word that had changed its meaning since his day. Though it probably referred to something different than simply 'fauna' considering it seemed that Jacque was asking about a specific group of things.

"Faunus?" Marcus asked simply, voicing his confusion.

"Yes, men and women born with a physical aspect of an animal." Jacque elaborated, raising an eyebrow at Marcus' confusion, though just assuming that he used a different word.

Marcus wondered for a moment, before nodding. "Yes I suppose we did. Forossa had great Lion knights, some of the fiercest warriors to ever grace our world. Though I never had the pleasure of conversing with one, I'm sure they would have had night unbelievable stories to tell." Marcus sipped at his brandy, once again marvelling at the advancement in culinary and alcoholic technology, before continuing to speak. "They were effectively bipedal lions, savage to be sure, but there was a sort of sophistication to them that lent themselves to Forossan service. Other than that, we had a veritable menagerie of animal men, even actual animals that seemed more intelligent than you or I!" He finished with a light chuckle.

Jacque couldn't bring himself to join in on Marcus' humour, but the knight didn't seem to notice. He knew some of the things that Marcus had been telling him sounded fantastical, but he was willing to accept it at face value. After all, what reason would Marcus have, and by extension Ironwood have, for lying to the entirety of Remnant like this? It was a lot of risk for what seemed like very little reward.

He did know that Ironwood had managed to persuade Marcus into joining the Atlesian military. A fact Jacque found insulting. Marcus was such an important source of knowledge that it was simply stupid to put him in situations where he would be in danger! He was sure Ironwood had his reasons of course, that man never did anything without a plan, and he went to great lengths to make sure his men had the greatest survivability chance possible. The updated mechs the SDC was designing for the military would be able to replace hundreds of soldiers in the field after all.

His eyes narrowed as he glanced at his computer monitor, which was flashing with an alert from one of his moles inside the military. Once he read it, his eyes widened. "Well I thank you for your time, but as unfortunate as it is, I must cut this meeting short. I hope you understand." Jacque gave Marcus a polite smile, and the other man nodded before rising out of his seat.

Jacque followed, and shook his hand once again before escorting him to the door. Before he left however, he placed his hand on Marcus' shoulder, causing the Knight to turn and face him once again. "If I understand it correctly, you'll be Winter's second in command?" Jacque lowered his voice and squeezed the shoulder plate of Marcus' armour. The fact that Marcus was not only armoured but also armed, didn't seem to faze him.

Marcus' eyes widened, but he nodded, not denying it. Jacque returned the nod, and for the first time since Marcus had met the man, he hesitated. "Keep her safe, she is my daughter." Jacque said, in a rare moment of fatherly affection.

Despite what some ungrateful children might think, he did love them all. He recognized that they might not agree with his methods of parenting, physical or otherwise, but as long as they were tough, safe, and prepared to carry on the family legacy, Jacque could die a happy man. Winter joining the military not only angered him, as she had renounced any claim to her heritage beyond her name, but the constant knowledge that she was being put in danger, fighting Grimm or otherwise, caused him no end of worry. To think that Weiss wanted to follow in her deluded sister's footsteps and become a huntress not only infuriated him even more, considering she should have been focusing on her business studies, but he didn't want to lose two daughters. And he most certainly didn't want what happened between him and Winter to happen between him and Weiss. His only solace was Whitley, who seemed very focused on following in Jacque's own footsteps, a fact for which he was eternally grateful.

Marcus merely nodded, and the hardness in his eyes gave Jacque a good impression of how seriously the knight took his promises. With that, Jacque released his grip on Marcus' shoulder, allowing the man to exit his office. With a huff, Jacque buried his familial emotions so he could return to his work.

Alright so, Authors note again.

I feel like I could have done this chapter better, and I can only hope things get better from here on out. Problem is, a combination of school and finally getting a job has pearl harboured me hard. I'm not sleeping as much as I'm used too, and I'm busier, so I don't have as much time to think about stories as I'd like. So I'm sorry if my schedules get screwed up and chapters come out late. I don't want to abandon this, but life comes first, so if I've got to leave this in the dust for a while in order to sort myself out, I will.

I'm not sure how much I'll be using cannon characters as that requires me to stay true to a pre-established character that I am not intimately familiar with. Time will tell.

Jacque never struck me as a particularly malignant person. He is a prime example of Authoritarian parenting, that being the hole 'do as I say, and trust that I am right and do ask why' shtick. And while it is implied he might have been abusive, especially considering the slap he delivers to Weiss, most think of him as heartless and only out for himself. But just because he hit's his kids doesn't mean he doesn't love them. People did it all the time back in the day, didn't mean they didn't love their children any less.

Now before we even start, I'm not defending hitting kids, that's not cool, but that doesn't mean a fictitious character can't think it's A OK.

If you made it this far, thanks for reading. You cool.

Also, this chapter was around 4200 words, so a little short of my minimum, but I wanted to get it out, and it seemed like a good place to end off. Will try for 5000 next chapter, which should be easier since I don't have to worry about all this heavy conversation.