As a birthday present to myself, I wanted to upload the first part of Volume 2 to show I have been working on it. Burnout is very real though, so progress has been too slow for my liking. I'll update again when I have everything ready.

It just sucks that this had to happen during the current situation. Stay safe wherever you are and I'll hopefully see you next time.

Weiss did her best to control her breathing as she held her rapier in front of her. Even though Winter had long been unofficially blacklisted from the Schnee Manor, Weiss still remembered all the times that she had trained Weiss in fencing using summoned Beowolves. Even with her gone, Weiss still secretly kept the training up in her own time and whenever Winter snuck in to check on her.

Thrusts, foot placement, slashes, and proper usage of glyphs were all practiced several times, both individually and mixed together before Weiss decided that she had done enough. Today was no different, and Weiss moved to her bed to put Myrtenaster away in its case and hid it under her bed like always before she started to leave her room to get some lunch Weiss had barely cracked open her door when she heard her father shouting outside.

"This is an outrage! All this time you've said that she mustn't leave the Manor grounds, and now you've changed your mind about that!? Why are you—"

"This conversation was over when it started, Gelé," a familiar woman's voice interrupted and Weiss froze when she heard it.

'Oh no, it's her!'

"But why her?" Jacques asked again, "Why my daughter!? Surely you have plenty of other people to—"

"Of course I do, Gelé, but I'm choosing her for this," the monster said, stopping right in front of Weiss' door. Weiss saw the barest amount of her dress and armored arms and started backing away from the door quietly. "And I find it interesting that you think you have a say in what she does."

"She's my daughter and heiress to my company! If anything were to happen to her, then—"

"Your company!?" she interrupted angrily. By this point Weiss had taken a deep breath and started to set up for singing practice, hoping the argument wouldn't come into the room. "Oh Gelé, you parasite, I think you've forgotten how little power you actually have now. You've had nothing since the day you revealed yourself for what you really are and Willow called on me to make things right. And I will make things right again, with everything that I have.

"Now the real question you need to ask is this: do I have to break your other arm for you to realize that?" Jacques didn't answer aside from an angry sigh, to which she replied with a small huff. "That's what I thought. Now make sure everything is in place and the account I specified is always topped off, if you can handle that."

Weiss had just gotten her stand and sheet music set up and was about to start singing when her bedroom door opened and the clacking of heels filled the room. Weiss clasped her hands together to keep them from shaking and took another breath as she reread the sheet music. Anything to keep from focusing on Her.

"Oh, you're awake, little one," she said no doubt smiling at how stiff Weiss was. "I apologize if our discussion interrupted your practice."

"You're not real," Weiss muttered and turned the page of her sheet music. "You'll go away if I ignore you like always."

"It's amazing how you keep using the same false logic," She said with a chuckle, "but I think you'll agree that I'm real once you hear what I say."

Weiss sighed and shut the music sheet. "I can't concentrate like this. I'll get lunch and try this again," Weiss started to leave her room while deliberately ignoring Her and Jacques who was standing in the doorway. Weiss briefly looked at Jacque's broken arm, covered entirely in a cast and a sling, and deep down she enjoyed the fact that he suffered even a little. She still felt sick at the thought, so she pushed the feeling down and grabbed her door to close that thing out of her life again.

"How would you like to leave the manor grounds and forge your own future?" She asked, which stopped Weiss in her tracks as She continued. "Even better, a future without me."

That certainly caught Weiss's attention and she turned to actually see Her for the first time in a long time. She still looked exactly the same as the last time Weiss saw Her in the mirror: the same face as hers, same dress and armor, the same cold smile. "What do you mean?" Weiss asked, which caused Her smile to grow bigger.

"That caught your attention, I see. I've had a change of heart about you Weiss," She said clasping her hands behind her and moving over to Weiss' bed. "You could never have understood what I had planned for you, but… well, let's just say things have changed and I no longer require you for what I want."

"So… you're letting me go?" Weiss asked.

"That remains to be seen," She replied looking Weiss over with cold, red eyes before crouching down and pulling Myrtenaster's case from under the bed. Weiss stiffened up a little as She set the case on the bed and opened it, taking the rapier out and looking it over. "So you still have this. I assume you've also been practicing as well?"

"Y-yes," Weiss nodded as She started walking to her, "but what did you mean?"

"Despite what I said, you're still my property, and I won't let go of you so easily. You need to prove that you can survive without me. And like most things in life," She paused to run her free hand over Myrtenaster's blade, "A sword is by far one of the best ways to do so. Follow me. You as well, Gelé." She walked past Weiss and Jacques out into the hallway, and Weiss hesitated for just a moment before she followed after her. She led her and Jacques through the manor, once again eerily empty save for one moment where Whitley happened across them and ran away once he saw Her. The monster laughed at that and continued walking until they emerged outside into one of the many courtyards that Weiss trained in with Winter.

Jacques shivered in the cold while Weiss and her monster walked unhindered, both used to the cold in their own ways. The monster stopped in the middle of the courtyard and turned to Weiss, holding the rapier out towards her, handle first. Weiss took the sword and watched as the monster backed up slowly, her red eyes boring into Weiss' blue the whole way until she stopped.

"Now, you've done spars before I assume?" She asked, to which Weiss nodded in response. "Well then, you should know how this goes then. Your goal in this spar is simply to impress me, nothing more. And your opponent…" She held up her left hand and formed a red glyph that formed a sword handle. With one solid move she pulled the sword out of the glyph and swung a large black rapier in an arc to her side. "Will be me. I won't harm you, but I won't make this easy."

Weiss nodded and held her sword up in the fencer's show of respect, the monster doing the same, before both dropped it. She held her rapier up lightly while Weiss went through her usual routine. 'Head up, shoulder's back, left foot forward… control your breathing… and strike!'

Weiss pulled her rapier close to her body, the Dust cylinder spinning and clicking into place before she charged at the monster, little more than a white blur to the untrained eye. Weiss found out that the monster was anything but untrained, as she barely had to move her sword to deflect Weiss' thrust to the side. Weiss didn't let the displaced momentum throw her off, spinning around with practiced grace and stabbed again. The monster jumped back to dodge the stab and rushed forward to attack Weiss, who managed to deflect three of the attacks before she had to lock blades. Weiss put all of her strength into both of her arms while the monster only had to use one and grinned as she snapped her fingers with her free hand..

Weiss found herself pushed backwards, and she settled into a ready stance just in time to see the monster flick her free hand up. Weiss recognized the motion and found herself launched into the air where she pulled her arms and legs in to control the spin. With a swipe of her rapier, Weiss formed a glyph to land on and formed four more around her that formed icicles that fired at her opponent. The monster smiled as she swatted away three of the icicles and caught the fourth one in a glyph that was spun around and fired back at Weiss.

Weiss backflipped, the icy projectile barely missing her, and formed another glyph that she crouched against. Myrtenaster's cylinder spun and locked in on Fire Dust as Weiss pushed off the glyph and dove at her monster, who tilted her head with a look of curiosity. She spun out of the way and watched Weiss hit the ground blade first, smiling as she watched her flip over onto her feet and scraped the blade along the ground to create a wave of fire that was launched toward Her.

She held her blade up before swinging it down, launching a blade of wind that split the wave of fire and barely missed a charging Weiss. They clashed blades and the monster smiled that same sick smile Weiss had known for a while before Weiss was launched backwards. Weiss again flipped through the air onto her feet and held her rapier up in a thrust-ready position to find her monster creating more glyphs that surrounded both of them. Weiss eyes widened a little when she realized what She was doing and reacted in kind, Myrtenaster's chamber spinning and locking into place again before Weiss started to create her own glyphs in between Hers.

Lastly they created a glyph behind themselves and jumped onto it, eyes locking in the instant before they both launched forward. Their blades scraped against each other mid-flight, their eyes never leaving the other's until they were past each other, and they both flipped to land feet first on another glyph to repeat the process. The glyphs disappeared as both fighters constantly clashed in the middle of the courtyard, each hit accompanied by a shower of sparks, until they finally stopped with Weiss on her last glyph platform in the air over her monster standing in the middle of the courtyard.

Weiss launched down onto the monster and locked blades again. She put all her strength into her sword arm and did her best to ignore the smile on Her face, focusing instead on Her sword arm. Once it was close enough, Weiss launched her real attack and moved her free hand to Her monster's body and created a glyph, the white glyph encompassing Her body before Weiss turned her hand to turn it black and lock Her arm in place. With that taken care of, Weiss moved her feet to kick off of Her sword and backflip onto a glyph where she aimed a thrust at the monster's surprised face.

She launched and finally managed to land her first real hit of the fight, even if She moved her face so Weiss would only hit her cheek. Still, she had drawn blood which Weiss was slightly proud of as she flew past Her and landed on the ground hand first to flip onto her feet. She had only barely stood up and taken a breath when the distinct cracking of ice being formed filled the courtyard and Weiss found her legs frozen up to her thighs. She turned to look back as best as she could to see Her, free from the glyph and sword planted blade first into the ground from which the ice had come from. She pulled the sword free and started to walk toward Weiss, a pit of fear forming in her stomach, heavy as any rock.

"Your technique could use some work," She said, casually swinging her rapier in light circles as she walked, "and your awareness in combat is lacking. I left myself open several times during that fight that you could have taken advantage of, and you missed all but the last one. Very sloppy for a Schnee." She stopped next to Weiss and turned to face her, Weiss' eyes widened a little when she saw the black blood going down her cheek, though the wound itself seemed to be gone.

'I didn't think it would hit that deep,' Weiss thought as her monster wiped the blood away with her hand and looked at it before wiping it off on her dress.

"Still, you did hit me. And I would say you were planning quick enough on your feet to offset any inexperience." She looked thoughtful for a moment before She nodded. "I suppose I'm suitably impressed."

"Really?" Weiss asked, disbelief and hope alike in her voice.

"Really." She nodded again and summoned a glyph to put her rapier away. Weiss herself locked Fire Dust into Myrtenaster and stabbed it into the ice that melted a few moments later with little harm to Weiss herself. When she was free, she sheathed Myrtenaster and watched as her monster took a scroll out from a pocket in her dress and held it up.

"This, little Weiss, is your new life," she said and flicked the scroll open to show an ID screen with Weiss' picture on it. "With this you can be a student Huntress of Haven Academy, team included. A new life full of freedom, all in one little scroll." Weiss started to reach for the scroll when She closed it and held it away from her. "But I can't give it to you for free."

"Even after this duel?!" Weiss asked, outraged.

"The duel was for the opportunity to have a new life," She explained with a small smirk as she moved to hold the scroll with both hands and spun it between them by its corners. "If you really want this new life, you'll have to do one small task for me."

"I hate people like you, always moving the goalposts to suit your own needs," Weiss said, glaring at Her and balling her hands into fists, "but I'll do whatever it takes to get my freedom."

"That's exactly what I want to hear," She said, her smirk widening. "Huntresses are supposed to do the impossible after all. Not that I'd ask that of you of course." She stopped spinning the scroll and held it out to Weiss. "All you have to do is go to Vale and help your team win the Vytal Tournament. That's all."

"Win… a tournament?" Weiss asked and took the scroll. She flicked it open to look over her student ID, all accurate. "But why do you-?"

"Do you want your freedom or not?"

"O-of course I do!" Weiss tried not to shiver from the barely hidden anger in Her voice.

"Then don't question my motives or goals again. They shouldn't matter to you anyway, only my deal. Win the tournament, win your freedom; simple as that." She moved her hands behind her back to add, "The Schnees are supposed to be the finest of them all after all, so winning a simple tournament shouldn't be a problem for you."

"Right…" Weiss muttered as she closed the scroll and put it away in a dress pocket.

"One last thing I should mention," She said holding a hand up in front of Weiss. "Your freedom is absolutely on the line here. As I'm sure you can guess, that means that if you lose… well, you'll belong to me for the rest of your life." Weiss shivered as She chuckled to herself and folded her hands behind her back again. "If anything, consider that extra motivation."

"…I will." Weiss nodded. "I won't disappoint."

"I hope not. You are a Schnee after all," She said turning around and pointing at the manor, "Go pack what you think you'll need and go to the eastern landing pad. The airship there will take you to Vale. You'll also be picking up one of your teammates along the way, so look presentable." She started to walk away when something hit her from behind and she felt arms wrap around her stomach.

"Thank you for this chance. I will prove myself to you," Weiss said and released her monster to run back into the manor to pack her things, barely paying attention to Jacques as he watched her run. Nor did she see her monster brush her dress off and smile after her.

"I very much expect that, Little Weiss."

Blake was waking up from a thankfully dreamless sleep. Like every other time she's done this in the wild she focused her hearing carefully while she rubbed the sleep out of her eyes. She heard a bird singing somewhere far off, not unusual in this part of Mistral, the air wasn't too humid, the fire was going and she heard sizzling meat cooling over it. Then there was-

'Wait, the fire should have died out by now,' Blake realized and shot her eyes open now fully awake. She saw that the fire was indeed roaring again, with several sticks with fish on them cooking over it, and it was there on the other side. Blake glared at the Demon, who was sitting cross legged watching the fish cook, and drew Gambol Shroud from its sheath, the blade folding up so it rested against the handgun, and held it up ready to stab it into her arm. "Get-!"

A tentacle shot out and wrapped around Blake's arm, holding it still so she wouldn't be able to stab herself. Blake froze with a gasp and looked at the tentacle holding her arm and then at the Demon itself who was looking up at her.

"I'm not in your head, not this time," it said before withdrawing its tentacle and going back to watching the fish. "Normally I would, but after the week I've had I don't have the patience to speak with you like that. This is easier." Blake blinked at the Demon and squinted at it before slowly getting to her feet, keeping Gambol Shroud leveled at it as she moved around the fire. The Demon watched Blake as she carefully edged her way closer until she was right next to it and poked its head with the barrel of the gun. "Stop that."

Blake jumped back in shock and outstretch her arms as she kept aiming. "What is this!? Why are you actually here?!" Blake demanded gesturing with her pistol, "What are you planning?"

"I'm planning to eat some fish, nothing more. As I've already said, I don't have the patience lately to taunt you how I normally would."

"And what is that supposed to mean? You never-"

"Have you ever had the top half of your body obliterated by a laser?" The Demon asked angrily and turned to look at Blake. After a few moments of silence from the Faunus as she stared in confusion, the Demon huffed and added, "Exactly, it's not fun. Now shut up and eat some fish." The Demon looked away from Blake and picked up one of the sticks with a fish on it, removing its mask to eat. Blake watched it eat, pointed teeth tearing into fish meat messily, before she carefully moved to the other side of the fire pit and sat down, her gun still trained on it as she grabbed a stick as well.

Blake carefully ripped some of the scales off the fish with her teeth and took a small bite from it, though she was more concerned with watching the Demon tear into its own fish with no care for scales nor bone. Blake couldn't hide her curiosity at seeing the Demon's mouth for the first time, particularly how it was wide enough to split both of its cheeks. She chewed a bit of meat before swallowing and lowering her fish to ask, "So why are you here? You're never courteous and everything you do always is for something. So what is it this time? Another plan involving me?"

"Plans," The Demon said and ate the rest of its fish whole, scraping its teeth along the wood to pull it off into its mouth and tossed the stick into the fire. "You speak of 'plans' as if you know what your place in any of it is. So I ask you this: what do you think your place in my 'plans' are?"

"You were going to turn me into a Herald, maybe use my… I don't know, relationship with Adam to push him higher up the ranks of the White Fang," Blake said and took another bite of fish, letting the strip hang in her teeth as she added, "Too bad about that, huh?" before moving it into her mouth.

"Skilled as he is, Taurus is just a sword to me. He could just as easily be replaced by any warrior or assassin of similar skill. As for the Heralds, they can go on about how much power they have, but we both know that they're nothing more than puppets for me to extend my reach through the world." The Demon smiled at her, it's cheeks splitting open as it did so, and added, "Such a fate is far too low for you Belladonna, my most precious doll."

"I'll never let you use me," Blake said and leveled Gambol Shroud at the Demon's head, her trigger finger squeezing the trigger as much as she could without actually firing.

"That stubbornness is why we're having this conversation," The Demon returned and plucked another fish from the fire and bit into it. "Despite all the benefits you have from our… relationship, you choose to fight me at every turn. And to be honest, I'm growing tired of it."

"So what, you're going to force me into the role? I have a way out of that you know."

"Quite the opposite, I'm letting you go." Blake blinked at that before scowling and gripping Gambol Shroud tighter, her knuckles going white from the force.

"Letting me go? And I'm supposed to believe you on that, after everything you've done to me!?" Blake asked angrily as the Demon ate the fish and swallowed it whole.

"Of course not, you're not naïve. All I'm going to do is lay out a deal with my terms. Whether you accept it or not is up to you."

Blake watched as the Demon took another fish to eat and, against every fiber of her being saying otherwise, actually thought it over. This Demon that she lived with her whole life was actually offering her a way out of all of this. It sounded too good to be true which, given who this was, meant it most likely was.

'I suppose there's no harm to hearing her out. I can always say no,' Blake thought and asked, "Why, and what's the catch?"

"Interested? It's as you said, there are plenty of Heralds to take your place if I needed to," the Demon said finishing the fish and throwing the stick away. "As for the 'catch', it's really nothing of the sort. I need you to do a small task to prove that you can survive without my influence."

"I don't believe you," Blake said shaking her head, "I've seen this game before; it's always 'one more job' over and over again to keep you locked into one place. Adam tried that with me and it didn't work with him, so why should it work with you?"

"Because unlike Taurus I can back up what I promise, and when I say 'one task' I mean it." The Demon reached a tentacle into its kimono, pulled out a scroll, and reached over the fire to place it on the ground in front of Blake. Blake slowly picked up the scroll, keeping both her eyes and her pistol on the Demon, and flicked it open to see an ID with her picture and name.

"A student ID for Haven Academy? What are you doing with something like this?"

"That is your reward for completing the task," the Demon said gesturing lightly at the scroll with a tentacle, "A new life as a student of a Huntsman Academy along with a clean background."

"The ID is fake then."

"Of course it's fake, do you think someone like you would have any chance at getting a real one? I can guarantee that will pass any inspection it goes through." The Demon paused to put on her mask and made sure it fit snugly before adding, "Besides you'll need the scroll anyway, especially after throwing away your last one."

It had been a long time since Blake had thought about that. Throwing away her scroll was yet another action taken in her paranoia that, in hindsight, was probably unnecessary. She didn't know if the White Fang could track her through her scroll, but at the point she was at she also didn't care. Blake had wanted a clean life and a clean start, detached from anything remotely connected to her old life.

A shame she couldn't throw away her memories, or that one picture of her parents that she still had.

"And if I do take this, and that's a big if mind you, what exactly would I have to do in exchange? I'm not going to kill anyone."

"Convenient, because if you were to do that it would make your task harder." The Demon pushed itself up to its feet, Blake following suit, and crossed its tentacles. "The Vytal Festival is about to start in the Kingdom of Vale and your new team is waiting for you there. Your task is to win the Vytal Tournament with that team, nothing more. Once you've completed that you'll be free to live your life as you see fit."

"And if I fail I assume that I'll still be stuck in your thrall and probably even worse off than I am now," Blake said narrowing her eyes at the Demon.

"Naturally. There's nothing worthwhile in life that doesn't come with a few risks, don't you agree?" Blake didn't answer and the Demon uncrossed its tentacles and added, "but you'll want proof that there is weight to my deal other than my words before you'll accept it."

"You'll need a lot of weight." The Demon rubbed its chin for a moment before walking around the fire until it was right in front of Blake, uncaring of the pistol still aimed at it.

"I have just the thing. Give me your hands." Blake didn't move at all as the Demon extended both of its tentacles towards her, stopping inches away and both of them staring into the others eyes. Soon Blake dropped the scroll and held out her now free hand out.

"You get one." The Demon didn't respond, instead moving its tentacles to Blake's hand and stabbing the tips into her wrist and forearm. Blake's arm immediately started burning like several branding irons were pressed onto her skin and Blake screamed loudly in pain while collapsing to her knees. The burning spread through her whole body for a brief moment before it all faded away and the Demon pulled its tentacles away from her.

With her arm free and the pain fading away Blake aimed at the Demon again, only to be taken aback when she saw it holding a small ball of blood in between its tentacles. She watched the ball, mostly black with a few swirls of red mixed in, as the Demon moved to inspect it before crushing it.

"What was…?" Blake started to ask as she watched the Demon's arms pulsate as it absorbed the blood.

"Blood has power," the Demon interrupted gesturing to Blake and itself, "especially between you and I. The stronger the blood, the stronger the connection, but you already know this." Blake scowled at the Demon, her thoughts flicking briefly to the Heralds. "What I just took is the majority of my influence over you. There's still some left, enough for me to see through your eyes and ultimately know if you'll go through with this deal, but nothing more. No more visions of me, no more spasms from me trying to control your body. If you want me to rid you of the rest, then simply follow through with my deal."

The Demon started to walk away from Blake, who still hadn't lowered her gun as she stared at it, until she lowered it and shouted, "And how do I know you're telling the truth? You've always said anything to get what you wanted before!"

"The deal is real Belladonna, as is the reward," the Demon returned as it stopped and glanced back at Blake, "and you won't get another chance like this again, that I can guarantee. The scroll has coordinates and a date. If you want to take the deal, be there by then." It looked away from Blake and continued walking until it disappeared behind a grouping of trees a ways away. Blake finally started to relax and took a breath to steady her nerves and looked down at the scroll lying at her feet.

She picked up the scroll and looked everything over again, trying not to meet the gaze of her picture, and shut it when she was done. "It's too good to be true," she said to herself as she put it away in one of her pockets and sat down next to the fire. "It's just another trick for it to get into my head, make me do things against my will. I can't trust it."

Still, as she took another fish out of the fire and started eating around the blackened bits of meat, Blake thought about the 'deal'.

The date on the scroll had been for five days after Blake's meeting with the Demon and the location was a village a couple of days away by foot, though with her speed she could have been there in half the time if she wanted. Blake had tried to push the meeting out of her mind and continue her life as she had been, scavenging in the wilderness for food while avoiding the Creatures of Grimm, before setting up camp and awaiting the latest bit of horror to invade her dreams.

But it didn't come. Blake had a dreamless sleep and woke up in the morning feeling more refreshed than she usually did. Even her bandaged arms, which would usually ache as a sign of the Demon's attempt of control, felt just fine. Blake didn't know how to feel about that, nor when it happened again the next morning.

The third time it happened a poisonous feeling that Blake had long ago tried to push away filled her again. She sat next to her dead campfire, a few embers still alive in the core of the pit, and she really started to think about the deal the Demon had offered. Her freedom, her very life, in exchange for winning a tournament? It seemed too good to be true, and somewhere deep down she believed that, but she was starting to enjoy having her head to herself for a change.

"Your life could be so much better than this," Blake remembered the Demon saying once long ago, "This is no life for you." As much as Blake hated the Demon she knew that it was right. Her experiences with it caused her to run away again and scrape out a meager existence because she didn't want to hurt anyone again. That was exactly the kind of thing that demons like Kuroshara fed on and wanted.

"Nothing to lose, everything to gain huh?" Blake asked herself for the umpteenth time and opened the scroll the Demon gave her again. She looked over the ID and her picture (how the Demon got that is anyone's guess) and sighed as she closed it again. "Fine, what else can I do except what I've been doing? Nothing changes that way, so let's see how this goes."

For the first time in a long time, Blake dared to hope.

It had been a hard dash to the village the scroll indicated, but Blake managed to make the trip in the two days left before the deadline. She was sure she was a sight to see for the villagers, hooded as she was and in black and white combat clothing that definitely had seen better days, but Blake was used to ignoring those kinds of stares when the happened. Blake checked the scroll again and was annoyed that it didn't say anything more than 'airport' for a location to go, but she went all the same.

The airport in this village was no different from any other village large enough to warrant one: a hub building next to the ports for ticket purchases that included a side room full of cots that could be called an inn if one were feeling particularly generous. Blake looked the building over with crossed arms, wondering what to do now, and sighed inwardly as she entered the building. She stood at the doorway and looked over the ticket counter that had a couple of people working it, one of whom saw Blake and waved her over.

"I can help you here!" she said in the normal 'pleasant' tone that all who worked customer service must have learned. Blake walked over to her and waited a moment for her to finish typing something on her computer before she turned to Blake with the usual, half-forced smile. "How can I help you?"

"Um… I want to take a ship to Vale," Blake answered still slightly unsure of herself.

"For the Vytal Festival, right?" she asked as she started typing on her computer again. "If that's the case you're in luck, all tickets to Vale are at a discount thanks to the Festival. It will cost you this much." She tapped a hologram that brought up a price that Blake balked at.

'15,000 Lien!? Is that one way or a round trip? I don't have that kind of money on me!' Blake thought and, in a slight panic, asked, "Uh, can you… put me on a waiting list or something? I don't quite have that much right now but I can soon."

"That's no problem, it happens more often than you would think. Just hold your scroll up please," she replied dismissing the price and bringing up a new hologram that showed a dotted rectangle and the words 'place scroll here'. Blake took out her new scroll and held it to the hologram until it beeped twice, then waited as the worker started typing again to see if she would be found out.

'I hope that Demon was right.'

"And done! As soon as you have the money for the ticket, a seat will be waiting for you," she said and nodded at Blake, "until then, have a nice day Ms. Belladonna."

"Y-yeah," Blake and returned the receptionists wave as she walked away from the counter. She looked at her scroll again and took a deep breath as she put it away. 'Well that's one problem taken care of, but now I have to worry about fundraising. I might be able to pass as a legitimate Huntress now, so maybe getting money will be easier?' Blake left the building and sighed as she rubbed her eyes, looking around the village once she was done. 'I might be here a while, so I better see what's around.'

A few minutes searching turned up a book store, a teahouse, and a relatively cheap inn if she decided to stay there instead of at the airport's bunks. Still trying to formulate a plan Blake decided to window shop in the book store, which was immediately sunk when she saw a new copy of 'The Man with Two Souls'. 2000 Lien was gone in an instant, but at least Blake could continue where she had left off so long ago.

Book in hand she next went to the teahouse where she ordered some tea, not caring what kind came to her, and sat down at a table outside to read. Blake had forgotten how nice it was to simply read a book by herself and soon found herself completely engrossed in her literature to the point where she barely acknowledged the waitress bringing her tea to her. Time passed both slowly and quickly as Blake read and occasionally drank her tea until something came along that could knock her out of her reverie.

Atlesian airships tend to do that. Blake, along with several villagers, watched as the clean looking airship landed on one of the nearby pads. A ramp came down from the ship and a side door opened up to let a man in a cleanly pressed business suit descend and make his way into the building. Blake watched him, but ended up shrugging it off and returning to her book. Whatever he was doing in a small village like this wasn't any of her business.

That's when her scroll started ringing, startling Blake a little before she pulled it out and flicked it open. She didn't recognize the number and the icon was a generic gray silhouette, but the call coming right after that airship come here was too much of a coincidence for Blake. So, against her better judgement, she answered the call.

"Hello?"

"Blake Belladonna?"

"Who is this?" Blake asked as she shut and put down her book. No one should know her name, but if it did get out and is connected to that train… she didn't want to think about it.

"Are you Blake Belladonna or not?" The man was doing his best to act professional, but Blake had been around 'professionals' enough to know how to read between the words. He was getting impatient.

'Still, the fact he knows my name… let's see how this goes.' "Yes, I'm Blake. Now who are you?"

"My name is Laurel Schwarz. I work for the Schnee Dust Company."

"What?" Blake couldn't help but ask. A thousand possibilities for a SDC worker calling her coursed through her mind, but she waited for a proper explanation.

"I was ordered to pick you up in this village. I would ask that you hurry to the airship port, we don't have much time before refueling is finished." The man in the business suit left the main airport building talking on his scroll and Blake narrowed her eyes at him.

"Did you just walk out of the ticket building?" she asked and watched as the man stopped suddenly and looked around.

"You're close?"

"Raise your left arm." The man did so and Blake quirked an eyebrow. 'Now that's interesting. Did the Demon arrange for this too?' "I'll be right over."

"Hey, wait-!" Laurel started to say when Blake shut her scroll and put it away. She stood up, finished what was left of her tea, and left a tip of all the Lien coins she had before walking to the man with her book in hand. She saw the man she was sure was Laurel look at his scroll before putting it away and rubbing his neck as she approached, which he definitely noticed when she was only a few feet away.

"Blake Belladonna?" he asked once Blake had stopped next to him. She nodded in response and watched him take her in. When he was done he carefully fiddled with one of his cufflinks and comment, "I guess Huntresses come in all shapes. None of my business though. Follow me."

"Before I do that I have to ask, how did you know I'd be here?" Blake asked. Laurel stopped short and stared at her for a moment before shrugging.

"You're asking the wrong man for that. I was told to escort you to Vale, so that's what I'm doing. Any reason why is beyond what I'm paid to care about." With that less than satisfactory answer he motioned to the airship again. Blake rolled her eyes but followed him all the same.

Even though Blake had reservations about Atlas and the Schnee Dust Company in particular, she didn't bother to hide the small wonder as she looked over the Atlesian airship she was going to be taking, to say nothing about the interior. It had a standard red patterned carpet that went well with the white interior walls and black seats. There weren't that many seats, or people to sit in them for that matter, so Blake came to the obvious conclusion that this was a private airship.

'A private SDC airship to pick me up? The further I go into this, the worse it stinks,' Blake thought to herself rubbing her chin. 'Still it's too late to back out now, especially since I've already introduced myself. I guess I'm along for this ride.'

"Are you listening?" Laurel asked slightly annoyed.

"…Sorry, I was lost in thought. You were saying?" 'I should probably pay more attention for now.'

"As I said, feel free to sit anywhere you like. Food and drink will be brought by attendants regularly, so don't worry about seeking it out. It's a long flight to Vale, so get your rest when you can."

Blake nodded and watched Laurel walk down the aisle to the back of the airship. Blake followed him, walking carefully to make it seem like she was looking for a seat while watching him. He stopped at a seat almost at the furthest back and started to talk to someone. Blake managed to pick up bits of the conversation, small things like 'found her' and 'we'll leave when we refueled' followed by a simple 'thank you' from a female voice.

That definitely caught Blake's attention. She continued her walk down the aisle, moving aside for the brief moment to let Laurel pass by her as he went to the front of the ship, and stopped when she caught sight of the girl.

She was sitting neat and proper, like anyone who had training in etiquette would sit, and stared out the window with barely concealed amazement. Blake looked her over, from her hair as white as snow done up in a side ponytail with a metal tiara-like band, her fair face only blemished by a scar over her left eye, down to her clothing and boots. They were all white, save her jacket having a red inline, and her dress (most likely custom made) fit her nicely. She was tapping her foot impatiently and leaned a little closer to the window, which was when Blake saw the Schnee snowflake on the back of her jacket.

That, plus the myriad of luggage with the same snowflake, gave Blake everything she needed to know who this girl was.

'There's no way…' Blake thought as the girl turned to her and jumped a little when she finally saw her.

"Oh, I apologize. I didn't hear you come over," she said putting a hand up to her chest and bowing slightly, "You must be my teammate we were picking up, I assume?"

"…So it would seem," Blake answered, her defensive nature taking over.

"Well, it's a pleasure to meet you. I'm-"

"Weiss Schnee, heiress to the Schnee Dust Company; the largest purveyor of energy propellent in the world," Blake said focusing on the girl's face. No doubt about it, it was definitely Weiss Schnee sitting in front of her. That did nothing to dissuade Blake's ill feeling about being here in the slightest.

"Oh, you've heard about me then?" Weiss said after a second of quiet blinking.

"The same company known for its controversial labor force and shady business practices." Blake watched Weiss' face as surprise took over it. Blake was sure that she would lash out in defense of her company, but was surprised for another time when she instead sighed sadly and looked outside again.

"I'm sorry if you were hurt by the Schnee Dust Company, but I have nothing to do with any of that," she said and smoothed skirt out, "That's all my father's doing. I have my own problems."

Blake raised an eyebrow at the answer and sighed soft enough that Weiss didn't hear it. "Don't get me wrong, I'm not blaming you. I just… call it as I see it I guess." Weiss nodded after a second, which gave Blake a small measure of relief, and she gestured to a seat across from her. Despite her reservations to sit on her own and read her book, Blake took the offered seat and started reading there.

'I have to make a better effort to be friendly. If she's right about us being on a team, then we're going to be seeing each other a lot.' Blake looked over the edge of her book at Weiss and squinted her eyes a little. 'Still, the shut-away heiress to the SDC is on my team? Just what is going on?'

"We're finished refueling," a female voice said over the intercom, the pilot Blake figured, "So we'll be taking off shortly."

"I wish I could have gone out to see the village before we left," Weiss said mostly to herself as she shifted in her seat, "Maybe some other time." Not long after that the engines fired up and Blake turned away from her book long enough to look out the window as the airship lifted off. The village was soon a dot on the landscape and sky was all that could be seen outside, so Blake returned to her book for about a second when Weiss asked something.

"What is your name?"

"What?" Blake asked looking up from her book.

"Your name. You already know mine, of course, but I don't know yours. I should at least know that right?"

Blake did her best to resist rolling her eyes and went back to her book as she answered, "Blake."

"Blake…" Weiss repeated with a nod, "Do you like reading Blake?"

"Yes, I do. So much so that I want to continue doing it… for the rest of this flight… quietly." 'Please get the hint?'

"I don't think I read that in the library at the manor. What's it about?"

"…It's a story about a man with two souls, each one fighting for control over his body." Blake tried to keep her literary choices separate from what happened in her life, but the first time she saw this book it resonated with her. It was probably the first time she really could step into the protagonist's shoes but really wish she couldn't.

"That must be rough, having to constantly fight for your right to exist," Weiss said sorrowfully and looked out the window, "if there's a 'good' soul, then I hope that's the one that wins."

Blake looked at Weiss in surprise in that she mirrored Blake's exact train of thought when she had first picked up the book. 'It's almost like she has experience in… nah, that can't be.'

Weiss noticed Blake staring at her and asked, "Is that weird to say?"

"No, not in the slightest," Blake answered hastily shaking her head.

"Ok, I thought I said something wrong. If you don't mind, can I read that when you're done?" Blake nodded and Weiss gave the smallest of smiles. Curiosity now thoroughly peaked, Blake reached into a pocket and took out a length of ribbon, a spare in case she lost the one she used to hide her cat ears, and used it to mark her place in the book before she set it aside.

"You said you had a library at your manor. Did you read a lot there?" Blake asked although she kept her question of 'why would you leave the manor' unasked.

"Not as much as I would have liked," Weiss said with a small shrug, "it was mostly used for private lessons. Business, economics, the history of my family and company, that kind of thing. Mother and Father aren't readers so much, that was more my grandfather's thing."

Blake only knew a little about Nicholas Schnee, the founder of the Schnee Dust Company, but what she had heard painted him as a driven yet humble man. Who else would personally lead expeditions to find new Dust deposits other than that? 'Yeah, I can see someone like that being an avid reader,' Blake mentally agreed as she watched Weiss look up and down the aisle before leaning in closer.

"But I do know where my sister hid a bunch of young adult novels in the library. I read all of those, especially the raunchier ones. Good afternoons wasted if you're into that kind of thing."

"…Which ones?" Blake asked more than a little excited to share in one of her guiltier pleasures, even more so when Weiss grinned just as widely as Blake was.

'Maybe it won't be as bad as I thought,' Blake thought, 'Knock on wood of course.'