Chapter 130:

The whispers followed Weiss and Ashley through the room. Word was already spreading ahead of them, plenty of people having been close enough to hear Weiss' pronouncements, who had then gone on to spread the word across the entire gathering.

"She's actually in a relationship with that animal?"

"And they're flaunting it so openly."

"Her father won't just disinherit her, but disown her for pulling a stunt like that!"

"I imagine that Jacques will secretly be happy that the company will be in Whitley's hands from now on."

"I'm not so sure. They're saying Whitley approved of their relationship."

"Why on earth would he do that?"

"There sure is a lot of talk," said Ashley.

"Yes, we're the talk of the gala now," agreed Weiss.

"I'm surprised that whispering is all they're doing," said Ashley.

"In many ways, people behave as predators," said a familiar voice from off to one side.

"Rain!" exclaimed Weiss, turning to face the boy, surprised to see him standing there, a pleasant smile on his face. Ciel was on his arm in much the same way that Ashley was on Weiss', her own expression more neutral, but sporting a small smile all the same. They were wearing the same outfits they'd worn to the Beacon Dance. Given that, unlike Weiss, they generally had a lower profile amongst the circles represented at this gala, it was something that they could get away with, nearly everyone present not knowing that they were reusing their formal outfits.

"What are you doing here?" asked Weiss.

"Mr. Whitley extended an invitation to our entire team," explained Rain. "It is something she never told you, but Piper and he have been close friends for some time."

"Seriously...?" said Weiss, shocked by the revelation. "Why didn't Piper say anything?"

"Most likely because she didn't want you to think she was spying on you on your brother's behalf," said Ciel.

"Well...I'm not sure I would have thought that..." said Weiss, a note of uncertainty in her voice, "...at least, not for long."

She might have reflexively thought that, at first. However, logic would have quickly disabused her of the notion. After all, while she might have been visiting for the festival, Piper was still an Atlas Academy student, attending school in an entirely different Kingdom, hardly a situation that would have been suitable for spying on her. So Weiss didn't worry about the idea of Piper being Whitley's spy. Rather...

"I would be more concerned about her taste in friends," said Weiss, a sour note in her tone.

"You might not think so, but they suit each other quite well," said Rain.

"They do, do they?" mused Weiss.

Ashley, who had been listening politely, but found herself wondering... "What did you mean...about people behaving as predators?" she asked, tilting her head slightly as she regarded Rain.

"Ah, that..." Rain sighed and lowered his head for a moment. "It pains me to say this, but many of the people gathered here have quite black hearts."

"Because of that, they look for opportunities to bring others down," said Ciel.

"Like predators, what they are looking for is vulnerability," continued Rain. "They seek to look for openings in the pride of others, and attack those openings."

"Had you still been trying to hide your relationship, they might have caught onto that," said Ciel. "That would have invited them to try and provoke you into admitting it openly, which would have given them more fodder to attack, as hiding it would imply shame, which they would seek to compound."

"However, by displaying your relationship so boldly, you have demonstrated that you have no shame," said Rain. "Because of that, they now feel that taunting you openly would largely come off as impotent, as it would not garner the kind of reactions that they are looking for."

"That's...weird," said Ashley.

"High society is a strange place," admitted Rain quite easily.

"It's also a lot bigger than I expected," said Ashley, looking around. "There were this many people like this in Vale?"

"Not all of them are from Vale," said Ciel. "Many of the guests are from other Kingdoms, mostly Mistral and Atlas."

"Not Vacuo?"

Weiss shook her head. "Vacuo doesn't have much in the way of high society," she said. "The closest would be those who own stakes in the foreign companies that operate in Vacuo, but they all hail from other Kingdoms."

"And do they all have such poor views of faunus?" wondered Ashley.

"A significant majority of them do," said Rain, sighing again. "Families such as ours are often more inclined to have their children educated in exclusive institutions, if their children are not home-schooled entirety. Said institutions are often chosen because they espouse a worldview that affirms the one the parents hold. In either case, that makes it much easier for them to promote their old-fashioned views on faunus. The children then grow into adults who hold those views, and employ their influence to try and prevent those views from being changed in the public sphere."

Ciel nodded her agreement.

"You two seem pretty okay with faunus though," noted Ashley.

"In my case, my family has a strong association with the military," said Ciel. "General Ironwood's work in promoting a more progressive view of faunus within the military led them to adopt a more positive view of faunus overall."

"As for me, my father has generally kept from espousing any opinion about the faunus," said Rain. "He is so sensitive to how people perceive our family that he would prefer to make no move in either direction. However, I suspect that he would still have a conniption, if I were to seek a faunus as my partner."

"And I suppose that makes Ciel the safe option," observed Weiss wryly.

Rain gave Weiss and Ashley his brightest smile. "Ciel is hardly 'safe'. While she may not come with any controversy, I would rather say that she is an achievement, instead."

"Oh...and why is that?" asked Ciel, giving Rain a pointed look, her cheeks flushing.

Rain turned his smile on her. "Because winning your affection is what I count as the greatest accomplishment in my life."

Ciel's blush intensified, while Weiss and Ashley looked on.

"That was..." said Ashley, after a moment.

"...So saccharine that it might have just given me a cavity," finished Weiss.

"And yet, I hold to it as honest truth," said Rain.

Ciel ducked her head, feebly slapping at Rain's arm in retaliation. Despite the fact her cheeks were heating up to the point of ignition, she couldn't quite conceal the happy smile on her face.

"I think we'll move on now," said Weiss. "This atmosphere's getting a little too sweet for my tastes."

"Agreed," said Ashley, giggling.

"Have a lovely evening then," said Rain, "though we might run into each other again."

"Keep an eye out for Penny," said Ciel, shifting the conversation to lessen her embarrassment, though her cheeks were still tinted red. "She'll be happy to see you both here."

Weiss and Ashley froze, their eyes widening in shock.

"Penny's here?" asked Weiss.

"She is," said Rain.

"Why?" asked Ashley.

"I believe I said that Mr. Whitley extended an invitation to our entire team," said Rain. "Penny was included in that."

"Does Whitley have any idea what Penny's like?" asked Weiss.

"If he doesn't, he'll find out soon," said Ciel, a small smirk on her face.

"You say it like that, but won't it just cause headaches for you, if the General finds out that you've left her unattended at an event like this?" asked Weiss.

"Maybe normally," said Ciel. "But, with Penny's father in the Kingdom, the General has been induced to be less restrictive."

"I see..." said Weiss, exchanging a glance with Ashley.

It seemed that this evening wasn't out of surprises yet.

The low pounding of the bass was a source of auditory and physical pressure to Dove as he made his way through the club once more. Just as before, he skirted the dance floor, making straight for the bar. As usual, there Junior was. At the moment, the bartender was mixing up a drink for another patron. By the time he had finished, Dove had already taken a seat at the nearest available stool.

"That was a quick turnaround," said Dove. "You were making it sound like it would take longer."

"It's always dependent on the kind of information," said Junior. "Some stuff I have on hand. Some I have to dig up. Some info is easier to find out than other info."

"Is that a good thing or a bad thing?" asked Dove.

"In your girlfriend's case, it has the potential to be pretty bad," said Junior, his tone darkening. "Your hunch on her old manager was pretty damn on-the-mark. When I got in touch with Lilian, and sent your money her way, I found out she had quite a bit on Holly Ji already."

"How come?" asked Dove.

"It means she caught Lilian's attention," said Junior, "and you sure don't manage that by coloring inside the lines."

"What do you have?" asked Dove, frowning.

Junior poured out a drink and slid it over the bar to Dove, who accepted it. It was a fairly strong brandy, so Dove sipped slowly.

"For starters, she's not Mistralian...not by birth anyway," said Junior.

"Where's she from then?"

"Vacuo."

"Vacuo, huh...?" Dove's eyebrows rose up. "That makes sense, considering her looks."

Darker skin colors were often an indicator of the residents of that land, where the intense sun upon the deserts seemed to have tanned its inhabitants on a genetic level. Besides that, there was something about Holly that Dove found...familiar...something that wore at him the more he thought about her.

"She got a rep?" asked Dove.

"In Vacuo," said Junior. "Apparently she'd been indicted for child abandonment at one point."

"And she still managed to get a job as a manager?" asked Dove skeptically.

"In Mistral," Junior reminded him. "Given the way Vacuo is, I'm not surprised that the charge didn't show up in a background check. Save for the area around Shade Academy, the authorities...or whatever a given place has in lieu of them...aren't all that organized. She probably could've gone to anywhere else in Vacuo, and been just fine. Going to Mistral, which has plenty of people with shady backgrounds of their own, would only make it easier to slip past the radar. From what Lilian said, finding out that much wasn't easy."

"Child abandonment..." mused Dove. "That means she had a kid, at some point."

"Pretty likely," agreed Junior. "Of course, the thing you really need to know, the thing that was the source of your hunch...you were spot on."

Dove grimaced.

Junior produced a memory drive. "The nitty gritty is all here. Lilian sent me everything she has on that woman."

Dove accepted it. Reaching into his pocket, he fished out a small stack of high-denomination lien cards, sliding them across the bar to Junior. "Thanks for your work." Even if he'd already paid the man's fee, Dove felt as though Junior had earned a generous tip.

Junior accepted the cards with a small smile. "If you ever need some info, stop by. I'll give you a preferred customer discount."

"If I've got anything else I need to know, I'll keep it in mind," said Dove, getting up from his seat and heading for the door.

So far, the night had gone quite well. Ashley and Weiss had remained close together, rarely out of physical contact with one another. They sampled some of the foods on offer at the tables, before continuing to walk a slow circuit of the ballroom. As they did, they caught sight of Penny and, true to form, the android was causing quite the commotion.

Apparently, one of the young men attending the gala had made the mistake of asking Penny out on the floor to dance. It was an understandable situation. Penny had the appearance of an attractive girl after all, which, combined with her sunny personality, actually made her quite appealing. However, the young man quickly found out that he had severely underestimated Penny's energy, and had found himself hanging on for dear life as a cheerfully smiling Penny whirled him around the dance floor with so much force that his feet repeatedly left said floor. Fortunately, Penny's proximity sensors were such that she was never in any danger of striking the other dancers with her partner. But the mere sight of it definitely caused more than a few dancers to stop what they were doing to gape at the spectacle.

Now Penny was standing over the slumped and groaning form of the man, after having deposited him on one of the chairs around the edge of the ballroom, apologizing profusely, while the people around her spoke in scandalized whispers.

"Well, with her taking up the attention, I can see why people aren't more interested in us," said Ashley, giggling at Penny's antics.

Weiss laughed lightly as well. "Well, it helps that we stole the goal out from under them, the moment they entered. In a sense, the game is already over, so there's no more point in playing."

Ashley nodded. Glancing towards the dance floor, her eyes widened when she spotted Whitley, dancing with none other than Piper, the two of them looking like they were enjoying themselves a great deal. Looking at them in action together, Ashley could better appreciate Rain and Ciel's explanation.

"Hmm..."

"Something wrong?" asked Ashley, upon hearing Weiss' uneasy hum. It was accompanied by the sensation of Weiss stiffening beside her, her hold on Ashley's arm tightening slightly, if protectively.

"It seems that, even though the game's already over, someone plans to keep playing anyway," observed Weiss, her eyes narrowing as she picked out a figure slipping slowly their way through the crowd. Perhaps it was a symptom of her training with Ruby, along with all the experienced she'd accumulated during her time at Beacon, but Weiss had become a lot more sensitive to the intentions of the people around her, particularly those with ill intent.

The woman approaching them practically oozed such ill intent. It was a sick, viscous feeling. However, it was leagues below that of a monster like Tyrian or Faolan, so it was hard for Weiss to muster up even a basic sense of caution as she faced of the woman coming their way. More to the point, it was a woman she recognized.

"Weiss Schnee," said the woman, clad in a dark-red gown, with an asymmetrical top, leaving her right shoulder bare, emerging from the between a few other people and coming to a stop before Weiss and Ashley. She looked only a year or two older than Weiss. "So good to see you here." She flashed the pair a saccharine smile that was so fake it might as well have been painted on her. In her right hand, she held a flute of champagne, which she gently swirled about.

"Madeleine..." said Weiss. "...I wish I could say that my sentiments were the same." She paused, seeming to think it over for a moment. "No, I take that back. I don't even wish I could say that."

A strangled grunt emerged from the throat of the woman, making the spiraling curls of her blonde hair, which was tinted a golden brown towards the edges, bob slightly. Her light-brown eyes narrowed in anger, above the full, stretched cheeks that decorated her face.

"Well...I can see that spending so much time with the animals has done wonders for your manners," said Madeleine, a vicious tone in her voice.

Strangely, even though she knew who the insult had been addressed to, Ashley couldn't even find it in herself to be affronted by this young woman's words. Whoever this young woman was, she was scarcely anything Ashley needed to worry about. Yes, she probably had enough money, or came from enough money, that she could probably buy the entire building Ashley and her family lived in without making a noticeable dent in her finances. But that did little to really frighten Ashley Forrest. After all, she was experienced in her own way.

She might not have been a Huntress-in-training, and she had never fought, but Ashley still had the experience of being hunted by the White Fang. She had been surrounded by armed men, who'd planned on killing her. She'd stood before Adam Taurus himself. Ashley knew what real danger felt like...and this woman was a long ways from that. So she was able to stand back without worry, and watch as Weiss did her thing.

"I would rather say that I've learned the importance of efficiency," said Weiss indifferently. "I see no point in beating around the bush for ten minutes until you finally get around to making your banal insults and taking your leave. And, from the look of things, your material hasn't been updated since the last decade."

"Well...clearly you've lost all your class at Beacon," observed Madeleine, drawing herself up. Of course, given that she was taller than Weiss to begin with, that didn't do much.

"Actually, I left it at the door, with my brother," replied Weiss. "That's the lovely thing about relinquishing my position as heiress. I no longer need to give a thought to what Father will think about my behavior. And, since that spares me from pointless and vapid conversation with the likes of you, I count that as a definite gain."

Ashley's hand went to her mouth, her cheeks puffing a little at the laugh that threatened to escape her. The gesture didn't go unnoticed by Madeleine, who transferred a furious glare to Ashley. "And what does a mutt like you find so funny?"

Ashley giggled a little, before managing to speak. "I'm sorry. You're trying so hard to be intimidating, but...with those cheeks of yours, it's just not working."

Madeleine drew back, aghast, as Weiss tittered at Ashley's statement. "She's not wrong," said Weiss. "Honestly...did you spring for another face treatment. Your cheeks look like cheap plastic. You must have gone to a bargain-grade doctor."

A strangled growl emerged from Madeleine's throat, her lips pulling back to bare her teeth. "You little bitch," she snarled.

"Ah, language," chided Weiss teasingly, wagging a finger at Madeleine. "Such a vocabulary is hardly befitting the heiress to the Malbec Family, now is it? It would be such a shame, were your mother to learn that you speak like that in public."

Madeleine's eyebrow was twitching spasmodically, making Weiss want to laugh again. The woman was the very picture of impotent rage, trembling with anger, wanting to lash out with all the fury she possessed, yet bound by the strictures of her class to maintain a polite front. Had Weiss and Ashley still been attempting to hide their relationship, she most likely would have been one of the people who would have come to try and bait her into an admission. But now, the tables had been turned, and Madeleine was the one being baited.

Sure, it wouldn't amount to much in the long run. There was little chance of Weiss being able to inflict the kind of metaphorical blow that would lay low the social life of her opponent. That having been said, unless Madeleine could find some way to get in the last word, she'd be in for a mocking from her peers for weeks, possibly even months, to come. It was the kind of blow to her pride that Madeleine would never accept.

Worse still for Madeleine, their little spat was now attracting an audience, and all of them were watching her dance right to Weiss' tune.

"And I suppose you think you're clever," said Madeleine. "I can see why your father was in such a hurry to find a way to strip you of your inheritance, if you're so easily drawn by animal musk. I suppose you've spent so long rutting in the dirt, you've forgotten what it's like to act in a manner befitting your class." Her lips stretched in a vicious grin. "Here...let me help you clean off a bit."

Madeleine suddenly thrust forward with her right arm, throwing the contents of her champagne flute right at Weiss and Ashley's faces. There was a flare of white, and the splattering liquid rebounded off the white Glyph that appeared in the air between them, sending the contents of Madeleine's flute flying into her face, splattering across it and her shoulders, quickly soaking into her dress, the scent of the champagne now rising from her skin and clothes. Meanwhile, the Glyph Weiss had used to repel Madeleine's drink vanished, appearing as little more than a strobe of light to the onlookers.

"Y-you..." sputtered Madeleine, blowing a fine spray of drink from her lips as she struggled to find the words to express her outrage.

"My, how clumsy of you," said Weiss. "Dear me, it would seem that you are the one in dire need of a bath."

"D-do you have any idea how much this dress cost!?" exclaimed Madeleine.

"Probably more than your last facial," suggested Ashley softly.

Weiss couldn't completely contain her laugh, the sound emerging as a slight snort. She wasn't the only one. For all that many of the people in this gala looked down on faunus, there weren't many who could overlook a clever rejoinder like that. A wave of snickers washed through the onlookers at Ashley's remark.

Madeleine's cheeks reddened and her eyes narrowed angrily. "How dare an animal like you talk to me like that?" she snarled.

"She can speak how she pleases," Weiss answered simply.

Madeleine's lips pulled back in an angry snarl. She took a step back, standing next to a small table that was being used to hold refreshments, one of many that dotted the ballroom, away from the main food-tables. Raising her empty flute, she brought it down on the edge of the table, breaking off a portion, leaving a jagged edge.

"You think a beast like you can get away with talking down to me?" asked Madeleine, ignoring Weiss, and glaring daggers at Ashley, who swallowed nervously, but stood her ground. "The way you stand there...dressed like us...acting like us...It's sickening. You should be where you belong, in the dark...you and the rest of your filthy animal kind! There's no forgiving an insult like this...so I'll take my recompense out of your HIDE!"

With that, Madeleine lunged at Ashley, thrusting out with the edge of her broken glass. However, Weiss interposed herself between them, raising her left hand...and stopping the glass with her palm.

Ashley gasped, expecting to hear the sound of glass piercing flesh, to see blood dripping down to the floor. She wasn't the only one, several people had yelled or screamed when Madeleine had attacked. They were all expecting to see Weiss' hand impaled on the glass.

But Madeleine's effort hadn't even left a mark. Weiss had used Flow, channeling her Aura into her hand. Combined with her Temper, it created a barrier that an untrained socialite had no hope of penetrating. Though she was untrained, Madeleine had unwittingly managed to put her weight behind her clumsy lunge, but even that wasn't enough to pierce Weiss' Aura...not even close. And now...Madeleine was left on the verge of losing her balance and falling forward.

Weiss closed her hand around the glass, and Projected her Aura as she closed it into a fist. The glass crunched in her grip. The last thing holding Madeleine up gave way, and she began to fall forward...only to be halted as a large, powerful hand gripped her bare right shoulder roughly, hauling her back into a standing position. Madeleine shrieked at the contact, the hand consisting of overlapping plates of armor, which pinched at her skin. However, the sound cut off as she felt the unmistakable sensation of a sharp edge at her throat.

The rest of the onlookers gasped and shouted, falling back away from the spectacle. Even as she had caught Madeleine's clumsy thrust, Weiss had created a pair of sword-wheel Glyphs, which hovered behind Madeleine's shoulders. From the one on Madeleine's right, an armor-clad hand and arm had emerged to grab her shoulder. Another armored arm emerged from the Glyph on her left, this one holding a broad, double-edged sword, which was now positioned at Madeleine's throat.

"That was foolish of you," said Weiss, opening her hand, powdered glass falling to the floor. "It's nothing short of pitiful that you would forget yourself so badly. Before now, you were protected by the rules of behavior governing the elite, as befitting someone of your class. But...the moment you decided to resort to violence, you stepped into my domain."

Weiss' eyes narrowed, her expression as cold and frigid as the tundras of Solitas. It was a pure, icy fury, one that completely froze Madeleine in her tracks, so that she didn't even need the hand and blade holding her fast to remain locked in place. The force of Weiss' own animosity did that all on its own.

"Tell me...Madeleine...did you really think that you had any hope of besting me in a contest of violence?" asked Weiss rhetorically.

Madeleine was too shocked and frightened to speak.

Weiss sniffed, imitating the arrogant mannerisms that were part and parcel to interactions between the elite. She idly flicked the fingers of her left hand. The positions of the two Glyphs changed, circling around Madeleine. As they did, the arms moved with them, the hand that had been holding the young woman's shoulder repositioned so that it could push her, sending her stumbling backwards. Madeleine flailed her arms to try and keep her balance. But the heels she wore kept her from keeping it, and she ended up falling over backwards, dumped unceremoniously onto her behind. The remnants of her glass, little more than a fragment of the stem and foot, bounced away.

The Glyphs continued to move, coming together and merging in a flare of light that blinded everyone in the room for a moment. When the light receded...there it was. A massive body, clad in plate armor, the towering form of an Arma Gigas loomed over Madeleine, its massive helm tilting down to regard her with unseen eyes.

Madeleine gibbered madly, fear rendering her utterly incoherent. Then the Knight took a single step forward, its footfall making tremors run throughout the room.

"Is something the matter?" asked Weiss, stepping forward alongside her Knight. "You asked for this."

"Tha-that's n-not true..." sputtered Madeleine, scooting backwards.

"Really...?" asked Weiss, she and her Knight taking another step forward. "I think otherwise. The moment you dared to threaten someone I cared about with violence, to try and spill her blood, in that moment...you dared to challenge me, a Huntress, in a contest of force. You might dismiss me as a barbarian. But the moment you tried to stab Ashley, you resorted to that barbarism yourself. And the problem is, once you did that, you were completely outclassed."

The Knight continued forward, and Weiss with it, its steps making the ballroom shudder. It made no threatening gestures, both arms hanging loosely at its side, sword pointed at a lax, downward angle. Yet its advance alone was enough to make it beyond terrifying to someone like Madeleine, who had spent her whole life enrobed in the safety and comfort of the upperclass. For the first time in her life, she was experiencing true fear, the most base kind of fear there was, fear for her life, fear that it was about to end...immediately. The Knight, moving forward was like being faced with a Creature of Grimm...which was fitting, considering Weiss' Summon had once been a Grimm. So she did the only thing she could under the circumstances, continuing to slide herself back across the floor, while the Knight and Weiss proceeded after her.

The crowd parted before the trio, allowing Madeleine to back herself all the way up to where the windowed dome met the floor, pressing her back against it, mindless panic beginning to set in as she realized she had run out of space to retreat.

"Allow me to make it clear," said Weiss, her voice carrying an icy chill of judgment. The volume rose, so that it carried across the ballroom. Weiss wasn't just speaking to the socialite in front of her, but everyone present. "This is the consequence of you daring to threaten someone I hold dear. And you aren't the only one. Anyone who tries to harm Ashley, or anyone else I care about, is in for the same treatment...or worse. That includes my insipid Father. If he tries to touch her, I will return to Atlas and bring his mansion down around his ears.

"So remember this, the next time you turn to force. You can best me in contests of words, in veiled insults, in humiliating insinuations all you want. But the moment you resort to violence, you will start playing by my rules, and now you've seen what happens when I play to win."

Weiss and her Summon stood there in silence for a few more seconds, allowing the echoes of her pronouncement to fade, providing a few more seconds of pressure on the woman she so despised. Then Weiss flicked her right hand dismissively. Her Knight exploded into a shower of motes of light, scattering through the air, before fading entirely. That done, Weiss turned on her heel and marched back towards Ashley, who looked on with wide eyes.

"Are you all right?" asked Weiss, coming up to Ashley and taking her hands in her own.

"I...I'm just a little shaken," said Ashley, still staring at Weiss. "I-I never thought you'd act like that...here...I mean..."

Weiss gave her a wry smile. "Yes, well...I think I may have gone a little overboard." Her smile faltered. "Are you scared."

Ashley's smile quivered. "A little..." she admitted. "But in a good way. I never...I never imagined you'd say something like that..." She averted her eyes, blushing furiously.

Weiss' smile softened, and she reached up to cup Ashley's chin, turning her head so that they were eye-to-eye once more. "It's the least I could do," she said, "for the girl I love."

Ashley gasped, and Weiss leaned forward to plant a kiss on her lips. They pulled away for a second, before wrapping one another in a tight hug.

"Wha-what are you doing?" demanded a furious voice from behind Weiss, making her scowl. Turning around, she saw Madeleine, still sitting against the wall, pointing at them with a look of utter hatred.

"Throw her out!" shouted Madeleine, making it clear that she wasn't speaking to Weiss and Ashley, but the security scattered throughout the room. "No! That's not enough! Arrest her! She threatened my life! She should be in a cell!"

Black-suited men moved through the crowd, converging on the disturbance. Weiss moved, placing herself between Madeleine and Ashley once more, while Ashley pressed up against her back. However, the security agents made no move to approach either of them, instead moving to calm the other attendees.

"That was quite the spectacle," commented a smooth voice from slightly behind and to the left of Weiss and Ashley. They turned to see Whitley there, Piper standing alongside him, sporting a wry smirk on his face.

"You were the one who invited a barbarian like me," said Weiss teasingly.

"So I did," admitted Whitley with a sigh, feigning resignation. "I suppose there's no helping it."

"What are you saying?" demanded Madeleine, surging to her feet, stalking towards them once more. "That witch threatened my life."

"You were the one who resorted to violence first," Whitley pointed out, folding his arms behind him and turning his smirk on Madeleine. "Really, Ms. Malbec, I expected better of someone with your upbringing."

Madeleine froze in place, her mouth working wordlessly.

Whitley sighed. "Gentlemen, it's clear that Ms. Malbec is distraught. Please escort her to where she can freshen up and calm down a little."

Immediately, two black-suited men slipped behind Madeleine as swiftly and silently as her own shadow. They gripped her shoulders and arms gently, but firmly, guiding her towards the elevator down. She struggled, growling and shrieking all the way, her voice only being cut off as the doors closed behind her.

Weiss puffed out a small laugh, before turning to regard Whitley. "I suppose I've made a mess of things," she said.

"Yes," agreed Whitley, "a wonderful, entertaining mess. If there's one thing to be said about you, dear sister, it's that you certainly have a way of livening things up."

"That was quite the show," agreed Piper, wearing a smirk of her own. "God, Malbec is insufferable. The only thing better than seeing that would have been being the one to do it."

"Next time, I'll allow you to have that privilege," said Weiss.

Piper tittered.

A second later, Weiss and Ashley were nearly bowled over by the arrival of Penny. "Oh my gosh! Are you two all right?" asked Penny.

"We're fine," said Ashley.

"That's sen-sa-tional," said Penny, beaming at them. "I was so worried there for a moment. That would have caused so much trouble, if things had gotten out of hand."

She paused, seeing the deadpan look Weiss leveled at her. "What?"

"Hearing you saying that to me rings of the pot calling the kettle black," muttered Weiss.

Piper muffled a laugh with her hand, while Penny tilted her head quizzically.

"Father is going to be livid," said Whitley, still smirking as he said it, not seeming bothered by the notion.

"I suppose he will," said Weiss, letting out a soft sigh.

"Is she worth it?" asked Piper, glancing at Ashley.

Weiss' smile lit up her face. "Without a doubt."

They were joined a few seconds later by Rain and Ciel, both of them bearing worried expressions.

"Are you all right?" asked Ciel, looking over Weiss and Ashley carefully. "When I saw your Summon, I thought someone might have..."

"No," said Weiss, shaking her head slowly. "Not for lack of trying on her part, but Madeleine is an amateur, who really needs to work on her poise and balance, if she's going to try and slip an attack past my guard."

"As long as you are all unharmed," said Rain, relaxing upon seeing that all was well.

"We're fine," Weiss affirmed, taking Ashley's hand. She regarded Whitley again. "I suppose we should take our leave."

"There's no need for you to depart so soon," Whitley offered.

"It's for the best, I'm afraid," said Weiss. "If we stayed, after causing a commotion like that, things would just be...awkward."

"I suppose you're right," said Whitley. "Still, at the very least, I entreat you to accept one last gesture of generosity, on my part."

"Generosity...from you?" asked Weiss, quirking an eyebrow. "I would have never imagined it, Whitley."

Whitley chuckled. "Yes, well...I suddenly find myself in position of more substantial means than I did before. So I can certainly afford to be more generous."

"And just what is it that you are offering?" asked Weiss.

Whitley pulled out his scroll, tapping a command into it. A second later, Weiss' own scroll buzzed from its pocket, hidden in her dress. Pulling it out, Weiss was shocked to see a room key.

"It's nothing too extravagant," said Whitley. "With the festival in progress, reserving an extra room was fairly difficult, so I was only able to obtain their most basic one. But, hopefully, you and Ms. Forrest would be willing to spend the night, and enjoy its amenities."

Ashley and Weiss exchanged a surprised look. "That is very generous of you, Whitley," said Weiss. "I find myself more than a little suspicious."

Even if it was their most basic room, it was still a room at The Grand Silmaril, the most extravagant hotel in all of Vale. That alone put it a nearly a half-a-million lien in value, all on its own. However, from the information Whitley had just sent her, not only had he booked her and Ashley a night there, but had even promised to cover room service for breakfast, and whatever other extras they chose to indulge in.

"Understandable," said Whitley. "However, I assure you that everything is on the level."

Weiss locked eyes with Whitley, unsure of what that would do for her. Whitley had always been completely inscrutable to her, at the best of times. However, for some reason, her own instincts were telling her that he was being honest. "All right then, we'll take you up on that," she said. "After a mess like that, I feel the need to unwind."

"Then I bid you goodnight, dear sister," said Whitley.

Weiss nodded. Then she and Ashley said their goodbyes to Team CPPR, and made their way to the elevator. As they did, the other attendees parted before them, leaving a wide swath of space for the pair to make their way through, cementing Weiss' expectation that her and Ashley's continued presence would only serve to fuel an awkward tension that would have hung over the gala like a dark cloud.

Whitley watched them go, before chuckling softly as they disappeared into the elevator.

"So...even though things didn't go the way you planned, it looks like you won out in the end," observed Piper.

Whitley sighed. "And yet, even when I've won, I can't help but feel that I've lost. Weiss walked right into my trap without the slightest hesitation, seeing it for exactly what it was."

"I guess that makes her action the equivalent of disarming said trap with a stick," said Piper. "But you still went through the trouble of booking that room for her beforehand."

"That was always my intention," said Whitley. "Granted, that had originally been meant to be a consolation, after my 'dear, distraught sister' had her relationship with a faunus exposed in the midst of this gala."

"You were always going to support it, weren't you?" guessed Piper.

Whitley chuckled. "As I told Father, Weiss is a sore loser. That goes for me as well, though I've always been better at hiding it. After all, it was what we were raised to be.

"That being said, if I simply orchestrated a situation where Weiss' inheritance was ripped away from her, especially in a manner that she deemed unfair, she would fight it with everything she had, which would have become quite troublesome before long. Even disinherited, I have no doubt my sister could prove to be quite the stubborn obstacle, especially if Winter supported her.

"To that end, I figured that the best trap to ensnare her was with the promise of happiness."

"Happiness...?" Piper frowned in confusion. "You were gonna trap her with happiness...? How does that...work...exactly...?"

"Simple," said Whitley, "my plan was prefaced on the idea that the inheritance and the position of head of the company were not actually what Weiss really wanted for her life. She followed that path because she deemed it her duty, believing that she alone carried the responsibility of redeeming the Schnee name. If I could present her with the opportunity to choose something she truly wanted over that duty, and a way for her to shed her responsibility without guilt, then she would turn from an obstacle into an asset."

"So you were gonna support her relationship with Ashley, a faunus, and basically show you were prepared to change the way your company does business," said Piper. "You said and did things that couldn't be taken back, and your Daddy Dearest can't fully punish you for them, because you're the last one left in the line of inheritance."

"Correct," said Whitley.

"Looks like you were wrong about one thing though," observed Piper.

"And what is that?"

Piper grinned. "You said the entertainment was a wash. But I found Weiss putting that brat in her place very entertaining."

"I suppose you're right," agreed Whitley, chuckling.

"So now what?" asked Piper.

"Well, the night is still young," said Whitley. "Disturbances aside, the gala is still a couple of hours away from winding down. That being the case, could I trouble you for another dance, Ms. Cerny?"

"You won't hear any objections from me," said Piper, accepting his hand.

Rain, Ciel, and Penny had been privy to the whole exchange, but had refrained from commenting. Even Penny had apparently felt it wrong to interrupt. Now they watched the pair head out to the dance floor once more. The band, which had halted their playing when Madeleine had attacked Weiss and Ashley, started up once more. The other attendees were hesitant at first, but gradually got back into the swing of things.

"Thick as thieves, those two," observed Rain.

"You said it," agreed Ciel, smiling wryly. "I'm glad things went well for Weiss and Ashley."

"Me too," said Penny. "But now what do we do?"

"We enjoy ourselves," said Ciel simply. "We might not have been offered our own accommodations here, but we were promised a ride to the docks after this."

"Okay," chirped Penny cheerfully.

Once the elevator doors closed, Weiss slumped against the wall with a tired sigh.

"Are you okay?" asked Ashley.

Weiss gave her girlfriend a weary smile. "I'm amazed you're feeling so chipper after that."

"Well...I didn't just threaten pretty much every member of the upperclass in three Kingdoms," Ashley pointed out.

"True enough," said Weiss.

By the time the elevator reached the ground floor, Weiss had recovered her composure. They returned to the lobby, where Klein was waiting for them, along with the bag that contained their regular clothes. After explaining things to him, Weiss gave the man one last hug, before she and Ashley headed for the elevator that would take them to the floor their room was situated on. En route, they took their time to contact their friends, and Ashley's parents, to inform them they wouldn't be back until Sunday.

The room Whitely had provided them was indeed a fairly basic hotel room. It consisted mainly of a single large room, with an attached bathroom. However, given that this was a room at The Grand Silmaril, it was leagues above any bog-standard hotel or inn room. That was clear from the quality of its furnishings. While being mainly one room, it was as large as the common area of the suite Weiss' team had been granted at The Atlas Imperial.

From the door, they entered into a spacious sitting area, containing a large couch and plush seats arranged to either side of it, all of them arrayed around an entertainment center, with a low table that looked to have been made from cut crystal set in the center of the arrangement. Behind them was the room's sole bed, a large, king-sized mattress, complete with pure-white sheets and a comforter, all puffed up to look as soft as a cloud, the headboard piled with pillows of both the decorative and functional types.

The entire wall opposite where they entered consisted of a single, massive window, overlooking the skyline of Vale. Just as with the dome above the ballroom, the lights of the city were faded out, with the streams of stars filling the sky clearly visible, even though they should have been blotted out by the light pollution.

"Wow..." whispered Ashley, going to the window. "I never...I mean...I knew there were a lot of stars, but it's one thing to be told that, and another to see it like this."

Weiss nodded, coming to stand next to her. "Normally, you wouldn't see something like this inside the Kingdom," she said. "You'd have to go a ways away to get away from the light pollution."

"As a Huntress...you'd sleep under this kind of sky a lot," said Ashley breathlessly.

Weiss nodded, somewhat bitterly reflecting that there was a time where she wouldn't have held that kind of attitude. She still remembered, with no small amount of embarrassment, how she'd been at the beginning of the year, arrogantly talking down to Ruby on the basis that she'd been living and training in the wilderness, as opposed to Weiss' own experience of learning under the best tutors and trainers her family could afford. She'd looked upon the idea of sleeping out in the open, underneath the night sky, as something beneath her, despite it being something that would have been natural to expect of a Huntress...like the one she aspired to be. It was lowly, sleeping on the dirt, with nothing more than a bedroll and tent to shelter herself with; slovenly, a life devoid of refinement, a way of life Weiss had signed up for, ignoring the contradiction in her arrogance.

Even up to now, she'd viewed the time she would inevitably have to spend out in the wilderness with more of a sense of resignation than anything else, the realization that she had been wrong about the kind of life she'd be expected to live as a Huntress, and a somewhat reluctant acceptance of that. But...hearing the wonder in Ashley's voice, as they gazed upon the unveiled beauty of the night sky, Weiss realized that...maybe...there was something to look forward to in that life.

"How do they do it?" asked Ashley.

"The windows are actually a full interface," said Weiss, tapping them and bringing up a control panel that appeared on the glass, as though it were a terminal screen. "We can freely adjust the filtration. We could turn the filters off, and see everything regularly, or we can make the windows completely opaque. They're also polarized, so no one can see in from the outside."

Given the caliber of the hotel, the windows were also likely bulletproof as well, security measures for the sake of the wealthy and privileged people that stayed in such rooms. But that was probably something Weiss didn't need to share with Ashley.

"Well...I'm fine with leaving the settings where they are," said Ashley.

"Me too," agreed Weiss.

They stepped away from the window. After checking out their room, they decided to see what the bathroom had in store for them.

As Weiss had expected, it was luxurious to an almost ridiculous degree, being almost as large as the rest of the hotel room on its own. Most of that space was dominated by the bathtub, which was more like the kind of hot tub or jacuzzi one would find at a more public venue, complete with a set of steps cut into its marble surface, allowing one to walk down into it and settle onto the bench that ran around its half-circle circumference. The whole thing was cut from fine marble, like the floor of the ballroom they'd left behind, and probably had built-in Dust-tech to keep the water at a constant temperature.

Aside from that, there was a shower stall, looking a bit more normal, though, in place of a regular shower-head, it appeared that water was pumped directly in through a section of the ceiling, with the stall featuring a hard-light wall, in place of the typical door. A small shelf housed an array of top-class toiletries. Light and fluffy towels, looking as expensive as everything else they'd seen so far, hung from a bar off to the side.

The wall that the bathroom shared with the window of the adjoining room was also a single, large window, one with the exact same spectacular view of the starry sky as the other one. The bathtub was built right up against it, cut into the floor, forming a half-circle that ended right where the edges of the tub met the window, with the window itself actually extending partway down past the level of the tub.

Finally, there was a counter, with sinks and a large mirror, situated right by the door, looking so normal for a bathroom that it seemed out of place, against the absurdly luxurious decor.

Ashley hugged her arms, feeling almost paranoid at being surrounded by so much luxury and finery. It was the kind of place a commoner like her would normally never set foot in, a glimpse of a totally different world. And, to think, this was the most basic room The Grand Silmaril had. It made her wonder just what kind of ridiculous features the higher-tier rooms sported.

"Pretty amazing, isn't it?" asked Weiss, rhetorically.

"Yeah," agreed Ashley, glancing uneasily at the window. "I...don't know...I feel like I should have a swimsuit, if we use the tub."

Weiss giggled. "I can understand that," she said. "Like I said though, the glass is polarized, so no one can see in. Don't worry. We have privacy."

Granted, given that this room had been given to them by Whitley, there was a part of Weiss that wanted to comb the place over for hidden listening devices and cameras, which her brother might use to record any scandalous happenings to spread over the network. However, she also knew that something so blatant was beneath her brother. Instead, her brother had originally intended this room as a place where Ashley and Weiss could console one another after being outed and ridiculed in a humiliating manner at his gala. Now that he'd gotten what he'd wanted, it was merely a rare gesture of kindness on her brother's part.

"Okay..." said Ashley, still feeling a little uncertain. She continued to hug herself, almost afraid to touch anything in either room, as though someone of her low standing might dirty the furnishings simply by virtue of her lack of class. Granted, that was the kind of attitude many who used rooms such as this would have held. But it was a far cry from reality, fortunately, though it was something that Ashley's rational mind was working to push past her initial reaction at suddenly being surrounded by such finery.

They moved back out into the main room. "So...now what?" asked Ashley.

"We enjoy ourselves, I suppose," said Weiss. "There's any number of things we could do. We could watch movies or shows. I imagine a hotel like this has a generous selection of entertainment options." She smirked, her eyes going to the coffee table. "It seems that my brother left us with another gift."

"Huh...?" Ashley's eyes went to the table, widening as she saw something she'd overlooked, as overwhelmed as she'd been by the room in general.

Resting on the center of that crystal table was a black tray with silver handles, accommodating a bottle, set into a glacette that appeared to actually be built into the center of the tray, accompanied by a pair of glasses.

"Um..." Ashley shifted nervously. "Is it all right? I mean...I know that, since you're a Beacon student, you can...but I'm still underage."

"Don't worry," said Weiss with a sigh, moving to the edge of the table, and reaching down to pull the bottle out. "My brother is too clever to make such an obvious oversight. It's sparkling cider...see?"

"Oh," said Ashley, glimpsing the label of the bottle. It was no doubt a luxury brand of such cider, probably costing leagues more than the kind she might find on a shelf in the grocery store, though she had no idea what the taste of such a beverage would be like.

Weiss glanced down at the tray, then smiled, an idea occurring to her. "I know," she said. "Let's get showered off."

"H-h-h-huh...?" stammered Ashley, her face turning red.

"I have and idea of what we can do," said Weiss, smiling confidently at Ashley, though Ashley couldn't help but notice that Weiss was blushing too.

"O-Okay," said Ashley.

"Go ahead and go first," Weiss told her. "I'll get things ready."

Ashley swallowed, nodding. She went in the bathroom, closing the door behind her. After shedding her dress and undergarments, she went into the shower and turned it on. Like everything else in this room, it was absurdly luxurious, being controlled by another interface, rather than a handle, like her shower at home would be. Its temperature could be adjusted precisely, along with the power and distribution of the spray. Ashley actually lost herself playing around with the settings for a few minutes, before she remembered what she was supposed to be doing and getting down to the business of washing herself.

Despite the fact that she knew that Weiss was waiting her turn, Ashley couldn't help but take a little bit to luxuriate in the feeling, utilizing the soap, shampoo, and conditioner, rinsing away her makeup and mascara, and relaxing as the heat of the water sank in through her skin. There were even products specially formulated for faunus-fur, which worked wonders on her tail. She managed to keep her time under ten minutes, leaving before her fingertips and toes were turned into raisins. Stepping out, she pulled one of the towels off its rack, drying herself off, before wrapping it around her body, so that it covered her from the chest down. The towel was just as soft and fluffy as it looked, fitting her in a way that felt even more comfortable than her regular clothes (which Ashley found a bit distressing). Even though she'd just used it to dry off, it barely felt even damp.

Looking around, Ashley realized that Weiss had been in the bathroom while she'd been showering, waiting until Ashley's body had been concealed behind the hard-light barrier that served as the shower door, before coming in. Weiss had picked up Ashley's dress, and begun the process of filling up the bathtub, water rushing in through sluices built into the sides, rather than a single faucet. Already, the tub was almost half-full.

Opening the door, Ashley found Weiss, still dressed and waiting, flushing automatically at the realization of her own state of dress (or lack thereof, rather), a blush that was mirrored on Weiss' own cheeks, though Weiss did a better job at maintaining her composure.

"My turn, I guess," said Weiss, her own nervousness betraying itself in her face.

"Um...the...uh...the tub...?" Ashley asked.

"It'll turn itself off before it can flood," said Weiss, chuckling. "The wonders of absurd luxury, right?"

"R-right," stammered Ashley.

"Just wait a little bit," said Weiss, resting a hand on the bare skin of Ashley's shoulder. "I promise you'll like this."

Ashley swallowed. "O-okay..."

Weiss entered the bathroom, shutting the door behind her. Meanwhile, Ashley moved to sit on the couch, still in her towel. As she did, she spied her dress, hanging in the wide closet that was built into the all adjacent to the door. She briefly entertained the thought of doing the same thing for Weiss, but stopped herself, unable to work up the courage to go into the bathroom, where her naked girlfriend was showering, even if Weiss would be concealed by the hard-light wall of the shower stall.

Ashley considered turning on the entertainment center, and finding something to watch. But her nervousness kept her from doing anything in the tense minutes she waited through for Weiss to finish.

Weiss' shower took less time than Ashley's had, but it still felt interminably long to her. Finally, the door opened and Weiss strode out, wearing nothing but a towel as well. Looking at her, Ashley felt her breath catch in her throat. She'd always known Weiss was beautiful, having always seen that refined beauty in the way Weiss dressed and wore her hair. However, right now, seeing Weiss, devoid of any beauty products, her hair left in a flowing cascade down her back, she looked gloriously beautiful in a different way. Ashley's eyes glanced towards the less-impressive flow of brown hair that streamed off her own head, and found herself feeling a little inadequate.

"We're ready," Weiss proclaimed, the coloring of her cheeks betraying her own nervousness a little.

"R-right," said Ashley, getting up.

"Go ahead and get into the tub," said Weiss. "I'll be right behind you."

"A-are you sure about this?" asked Ashley, shifting uneasily. "I...I'm..."

Weiss strode up to her, coming to a stop just outside of arm's reach, keeping her eyes firmly locked on Ashley's own. "If you're not ready, it's okay," said Weiss.

"Are you ready?" Ashley wanted to know.

"Yes..." said Weiss, before hesitating. "...No...Maybe..." She sighed. "This was a lot easier in my head," she admitted. She paused. "I guess I was getting a little carried away. I don't want to pressure you. I guess we can leave it, if you want."

"Um..." Ashley closed her eyes, then took a deep breath, before opening them. "I can do it," she declared. "If it's with you...I can do it."

Weiss gave Ashley a relieved smile. "Thank you," she said.

They stood their awkwardly for another minute. Even if they'd agreed, it was still another matter entirely to actually go through with it.

Finally, Weiss made the decision. "I guess I'll go first."

Weiss undid her towel, pulling it free and completely revealing herself to Ashley for the first time. Ashley gasped softly at the sight of Weiss' naked body, taking in the pristine state of her ivory skin, highlighted by the cascade of silvery hair down her back, matching nicely with the icy blue of her eyes. The sole mark of her body, that scar over her left eye, only served to highlight her beauty even further. Her skin was stretched over a body of beautifully sculpted muscle, showcasing the full extent of her training as a Huntress.

The sight of Weiss, in all her splendor, made Ashley sigh in jealousy. There's no way I could ever have a figure like that, she thought. "I...I guess it's my turn."

"Are you all right?" asked Weiss worriedly.

Ashley sighed again, averting her eyes. "I'm sorry. I just...looking at you makes me feel...inadequate, I guess."

Weiss stepped in close and cupped Ashley's chin, turning her face up so that Weiss could kiss her. "You have nothing to be ashamed of," said Weiss. Reaching over, she grasped the edge of Ashley's towel. "I want to see you. May I...?"

Gulping, Ashley nodded, and Weiss pulled the cloth loose. Ashley flinched at the sensation of the air against her naked skin, fighting the impulse to hug herself. She wasn't in bad shape, but she had nothing like Weiss' physique, nothing but the body of a weak civilian.

"You look wonderful," Weiss whispered breathily to her, making Ashley's skin tingle. "Your breasts are bigger than mine too."

Ashley found herself reflecting that that was true, however much of a difference that made. Weiss pulled her in for another kiss. "Go get in the tub," she said, after pulling away, "I'll be right behind you."

"Okay..." said Ashley, heading into the bathroom.

She stepped carefully down into the tub, taking a seat on the bench and leaning back, allowing her eyes to take in the sight of the star-washed sky outside the window. It was a beautiful sight, one made all the better by the soothing warmth of the water seeping into her skin and fur. Leaning back, Ashley used her tail as a cushion against the hard edge of the tub.

Then she heard the soft sound of Weiss' footsteps. To her surprise, Weiss was carrying the tray, with its bottle and glasses. Instead of setting it on the edge of the tub, as Ashley had been expecting, Weiss instead descended down into the water, still holding the tray in her hands. Then, to Ashley's amazement, Weiss set the tray on the water's surface. Rather than sink straight down, the tray rested atop the water as though it was completely solid.

Ashley opened her mouth to ask, then stopped herself. "Let me guess...Dust?"

"Dust," agreed Weiss, giggling, moving to sit next to Ashley, so that the two of them were pressed up against each other's sides. Despite the warmth of the water, Ashley shivered at the touch of Weiss' skin against her own.

"And look..." said Weiss, gesturing towards the tray. Even though the water was rippling and waving around it, the tray itself remained perfectly stable.

"Okay..." said Ashley. "I know it's convenient as heck, but this is getting stupidly crazy. Someone actually went through the trouble of creating a drink tray like that? How much does a thing like that cost?"

"You're probably happier not knowing," said Weiss.

"Probably," agreed Ashley with a sigh.

Weiss pulled the bottle free, removing the cork and pouring some cider into each glass. The golden liquid fizzed pleasantly, a continuous stream of bubbles rising to the surface within the flutes. Weiss then set the bottle back. "Of course, the glacette is cooled by ice-Dust," she explained. "And the tray is insulated so that the heat of the water doesn't reach the glasses."

"That's good," commented Ashley lamely. "Are those flutes some kind of super-Dust-glass that won't spill, even if you turn it upside down?"

"No, these are just regular, if fine, crystal," said Weiss. "So please don't go pouring cider into the bath."

Ashley laughed and took one of the glasses. Weiss took the other. Turning towards each other, they gently tapped the rims together, issuing a light chiming sound through the bathroom.

"Cheers," they said in unison, before sipping from their drinks. After that, they leaned back, savoring the nighttime view, and basking in each other's presence. They leaned their heads together, taking the occasional sip. The cider was good. Ashley didn't think that there was really that much difference between whatever high-class brand this was and the kind she could get from the grocery store. But the scenery more than made up the difference.

"Thank you...for everything," said Ashley.

"I didn't do all that much," said Weiss.

"When I was in danger, you fought for me," said Ashley.

"That was more Ruby than me," Weiss pointed out.

"But you were still there for me," Ashley pointed out. "And then...even though you knew it was going to endanger your inheritance, you still accepted my feelings. Even if we had to hide it for a long time, you made me feel incredible." She sniffed, looking down at the water. "And...I'm sorry."

"For what?" asked Weiss, giving Ashley a confused look.

"Your inheritance, the Schnee Dust Company, you gave all that up for me," said Ashley. "I...You...You've made so many sacrifices for me, and I haven't given up much at all."

"That's not true!" protested Weiss. "Ashley, you gave up your freedom. Just because you were our friend, you gave up months of your life, stuck in a single room. You entered into a relationship with me, even though you knew it was dangerous, that it would put a target on your back, once word got out. You put your life on the line for what we have."

"The whole thing with me and my parents being stuck at Beacon had nothing to do with you," Ashley pointed out. "The White Fang were after me because I was friends with Ruby. That's not a sacrifice, that's just the consequence. It's the same with your father. I was the one who asked you."

"And you decided to continue, even though you knew what it might mean," Weiss pointed out. Then she took a deep breath. "Besides, this isn't some kind of transaction. It's not about trading things of equal value. It's about what we have between us, here and now."

Weiss set her half-full flute on the tray, then took Ashley's from her, setting it on the tray around. Next, Weiss reached out, wrapping her arms around Ashley, pulling their bodies flush up against each other, and kissing Ashley deeply. Weiss used her lips to pry Ashley's open, slipping her tongue in, wrestling it against Ashley. Ashley returned the favor, the two of them moaning in pleasure.

Weiss pulled Ashley up off the bench. Still wrapped in their embrace, Weiss pressed Ashley's back up against the window, pressing harder against her as their hands began to wander, their drinks momentarily forgotten as they instead drank of one another. Several minutes later, they pulled apart, panting for breath, and sweating for reasons that had nothing to do with the temperature of the water.

"Ashley...you are not just any girl," Weiss explained. "There are so many people who would throw themselves into a relationship with me, most of them for all the wrong reasons. Most of them would have dropped me the moment I gave up or lost my inheritance. But you stayed with me, even though you knew I would have to give it up for you. That's how I know you're worth everything I've given up and more. I may have lost the company...but I gained something so much more in return."

They were silent for a moment, before Ashley broke it. "That...was totally cheesy," she said.

"I prefer to think of it as classical," said Weiss.

"I figured you'd be the one for the classics," said Ashley teasingly.

"And what does that mean?" asked Weiss.

"This," replied Ashley, pushing away from the wall and catching Weiss in another enthusiastic kiss, her hands drifting down to squeeze her girlfriend's ample behind. Weiss groaned into Ashley's mouth, her own hand sliding around to Ashley's front to squeeze her breast, drawing a similar response from Ashley.

Ashley pushed them back to the bench, and they pulled apart to sit down. Taking a moment to recover, they reached over and took up their drinks again.

"I guess we can make this work after all," said Ashley. "You know, even though it was a crazy night, I guess we owe your brother one."

"Yes," agreed Weiss, a sour look on her face. "As much as I detest the idea of owing Whitley, it would seem that I do, all the same." Then she sighed. "We should make the most of this. After all...this is probably going to be the last time we get to experience this kind of luxury for a while...if at all."

"Yeah...since you're not getting the company anymore," said Ashley.

"It's more than that," said Weiss, looking tired. "I'm afraid I'm going to have to be much more careful about how I spend my money from here on out. I may have relinquished my inheritance, so Father can't strip that from me, but he still has other means of reprisal. After tonight, I'll likely lose access to my family's credit line, which means I'll have to rely on my student stipend alone."

"Is it that bad?" asked Ashley. It seemed a little extreme to her. After all, all of Weiss' teammates and friends appeared to be getting along just fine on their own stipends. Even Pyrrha Nikos, with all the money her sponsorships and endorsements must have brought in, relied entirely on her stipend for her expenses.

"Well...in my case...my style and my weapon weren't designed with frugality in mind," said Weiss, blushing in embarrassment.

"Oh..." said Ashley. She'd seen Myrtenaster in action a few times. In particular, she remembered that spectacular sparring match with Ruby. "Yeah...I guess all that Dust must cost a lot of money, especially in this economy."

Weiss nodded. "It's probably for the best that I won't be participating in the next rounds of the tournament," she said. "I'm going to have to rethink how I fight."

"Will you be okay?" asked Ashley.

Weiss gave her a smile. "I think I'll be able to manage," she said. "I think...I might look to Ruby's family for help."

"The Mibu?" asked Ashley.

Weiss nodded. Then she paused. "That reminds me of something. I have a gift for you."

"Uh...Y-you didn't need to," said Ashley.

"But I want to," said Weiss. Then her expression became serious. "And I think it will be something you need, in the future."

"What is it?" asked Ashley.

Weiss set her drink aside. Remembering what happened the last time, Ashley did the same, readying herself. Sure enough, Weiss took Ashley in her arms once again, pulling her into another kiss. However, this time, Weiss did something else too, remembering a certain story Ruby had told her about how Jaune had healed her, the last time she was in the infirmary.

As they kissed, Ashley felt something pass through their joined lips, something other than Weiss' tongue, which continued to twine about her own. Abruptly, Ashley was beset with a popping sensation between them, almost like the discharge of static electricity, but not painful in the slightest. She felt a warmth build within her, becoming almost feverish, before fading away into a more natural sensation. With a gasp, she pulled away from Weiss.

"What was that?" she asked, surprised.

"Your Aura," answered Weiss, smiling lovingly at her.

"My..." Ashley looked down at her hand, seeing it outlined in a dark-green outline. "You mean you...?"

"I just unlocked your Aura," Weiss confirmed.

"Why?" Ashley asked, looking back up at Weiss.

"A couple of reasons," said Weiss. "First and foremost...for your safety."

"My safety...?"

Weiss nodded. "You already know about Father. And there's no telling if more White Fang radicals will come after you. I promised to protect you. But I can't be beside you all the time. With this, you'll have some extra protection. I'll teach you how to use it too, just like how Ruby taught me. Once we get a handle on it...maybe I'll be able to teach you how to use Glyphs."

"But...isn't that your Semblance?" asked Ashley.

"I used to think that," said Weiss. "But Ruby's shown me the truth. It's not a Semblance after all, at least, not how we think of one. It's something more. More importantly, that also means it's something I can share with you, something I can pass onto you."

Ashley blinked, amazed at the thought. "That...that would be amazing!"

Weiss beamed. "But that's for later," she said. "For tonight...let's just enjoy each other."

"I'd like that," said Ashley.

They hugged one another close, kissing once again. This time, they pressed on, their bodies turning about each other, legs sliding and tangling, hands roaming. They pushed each other back and forth through the water. Weiss pushed Ashley down on the bench, assaulting her from above. Ashley fought back, pushing Weiss up against the window, lifting her up slightly so that she could assail Weiss' breasts with her lips and tongue. They pressed on for several more minutes of amorous play, grinding against each other, their fingers reaching down to pleasure one another. Ashley was pushed into a climax first, but Weiss was soon to follow. Then, spent, they collapsed on the bench.

Taking the respite as an opportunity, Weiss refilled their glasses, and they spent several more minutes relaxing against each other, enjoying their drinks. About halfway through the bottle, they finally decided it was time to get out of the water. Weiss set the tray on the bathroom counter, before she and Ashley toweled off. Weiss finished drying herself first, while Ashley was still working on her tail.

Then, just as Ashley was finished, Weiss took Ashley's towel in her hands, slipping it around Ashley's back, and using it to pull Ashley up against her. From there, they continued on, Weiss pushing Ashley back out the bathroom door, and into the main room, before pushing Ashley down onto the bed. They shifted, pulling back the covers, moving so that Ashley was lying on her back, staring up as Weiss loomed over her. Weiss reached over to the interface located on the bedside table, using that to turn off the lights.

"I love you," said Weiss, her eyes gleaming, even in the darkness.

"I love you too," Ashley said back, reaching up to pull Weiss down to her.

They continued their lovemaking, finally collapsing, spent, in the wee hours of the morning.

So yeah...I went a little overboard, when it came to coming up with the bedroom. Sometimes your imagination runs wild in the weirdest of places.

I love the idea of Weiss pulling off a less...accidental...version of the spectacle she caused, back in Volume 4 of the canon series. Here, we get to see what she can do when she's in complete control, and dominating the room. Even though she's not a threat at all, Madeleine was a good way to show how Weiss has grown over the course of the story, both in terms of maturity and ability.

And Whitley gets to be manipulative and nice at the same time.