The Princess' Rogue - Chapter 19

(It is highly recommended that you read the Author's Notes below before reading this chapter.)

***


~ Cliffs of Beacon. 3 Hours Before Execution. ~

The galloping of hooves on the downtrodden path was loud in her ears. Clenching at the horse’s reigns in a white knuckle grip, she flung the leather straps forward again like a whip, pushing the animal to run faster. Rain pounded her form relentlessly, icy droplets falling from the heavens in sheets of water.

Had it not been for the white, hooded cloak wrapped around her shoulders, those same drops would have stung her like a thousand bees, prompting most normal people to seek shelter from the storm. As it was, Weiss Schnee was not normal, not to mention, she had long grown immune to such pains when it came to the elements of water and ice, and hence she didn’t feel a thing. Even if she could feel something, finding shelter was not a priority right now. Not with time running out much too quickly.

A howl snapped her out of her thoughts, Weiss’ gaze instantly settling on the obstruction ahead. Before her horse could even comprehend the approaching threat, Weiss’ left hand darted towards her belt, her fingers wrapping firmly around a now familiar pommel. Narrowing her eyes in concentration, Weiss’ Aura flared, the rapier strapped to her waist quickly resonating in response. A split second later, there was a flash of white at the horse’s feet, and everything blurred.

The pack of Beowolves crossing their path quickly disappeared behind them, the Grimm not even realizing what had happened before Weiss and her horse was already out of sight. Startled as the horse was to suddenly be moving at speeds beyond its understanding, Weiss snapped at it with the reigns again, forcing the beast’s focus on the path ahead.

She was almost there.

And nothing was going to get in her way.

Not now. Not ever.

***

~ Mistral. Juniper Tavern. Four Days Ago. ~

“What's... going on...?”

She didn’t like this. Weiss didn’t like this at all. The moment she stepped foot on the main floor of the tavern, she knew. She knew something was terribly wrong.

“Princess...” Pyrrha began, the redhead's words quickly trailing off.

The tavern air was stifling, bordering on suffocating. Weiss could barely breathe as they all turned to look at her, save for the sobbing Nora. With her eyes meeting Pyrrha’s gaze first, Weiss chewed on the inside of her cheek, the clear distress on the redhead’s face making Weiss feel like she got punched in the gut.

“We-”

“S-She's gone...” Nora stuttered, heaving sobs following quickly afterwards.

Suddenly all the strength in her legs was gone, Weiss feeling lightheaded. She would have collapsed to her knees had it not been for the strangely comforting weight of the velvet covered rapier in her hand. That and the warm cloak around her shoulders. Those were the only things keeping her standing right now, for reasons beyond her.

“W-What...” she said, nearly gasping for breath. “What do you mean she's gone?”

There was only one she they could be talking about. It was the same she who was absent from her bed this morning. The same she who had been distant for days now. The same she who was nowhere to be found right now.

“Yang left earlier this morning,” Ren said, elaborating on what the others meant to say but could not voice on their own. “While everyone else was asleep.”

Weiss’ breaths were heavy, her chest feeling like it was being squeezed by a vice.

“But...” she said shakily, the tremors in her limbs uncontrollable. “But... why?”

The skin of her cheek tingled with a ghostly touch from hours ago. Bewildered by the sudden, sleep fogged memory of kisses and apologetic words, Weiss’ hand raised to her cheek, that awful feeling in her stomach magnifying exponentially.

“She left because of you.”

Snapped harshly out of her thoughts, Weiss turned to the one who spoke.

“S-She left because of me?” she repeated, the weight of that statement crashing down upon her like a ton of bricks.

No. That couldn’t be right. That wasn’t true. Yang would never-

“Yes,” Jaune said, his hands tightening around the glass he was drying. Blue eyes narrowed at Weiss as he glared at her.

Weiss gritted her teeth at the blatant accusation in the blonde’s eyes.

“Yang’s gone to turn herself in,” Jaune carried on, his voice heavy with barely repressed anger. “For murdering you.”

And for a moment, Weiss forgot how to breathe.

“That’s…” she began, at a loss for words. “That’s absurd! I’m standing right-“

BAM!

A scroll of parchment was slammed down on top of the bar, making Weiss flinch.

“Wake up Princess!” Jaune exclaimed, the parchment under his hand crinkling. “Everything does not revolve around you!”

Ren looked at the blonde in surprise, Nora the same, both of them clearly not expecting that outburst. As for Pyrrha, she stared at her husband slacked jawed for a moment before getting her wits about her.

“Jaune!” the redhead chastised, but it went unnoticed.

Weiss quickly found herself fumbling one handed when the scroll of parchment was flung at her. Somehow snatching the item out of the air while maintaining her hold on her rapier, she quickly opened the scroll, all the colour draining out of her face.

“While the four of us know you’re still alive,” Jaune continued, bitter. “The rest of the kingdom does not.”

It was a bounty poster. But unlike the first one Yang had showed her of herself in the Emerald Forest, the quarry of this particular bounty was none other than Phoenix. And this one came with a picture of the rogue, complete with Phoenix's signature brown, hooded cloak and yellow scarf. Thankfully, there wasn’t much else to identify Phoenix by aside from that, but that was little consolation considering what Weiss spied further down for the poster. Phoenix was wanted for the murder of... well her. And the reward for capture (preferably dead) was doubled, now sitting at one hundred thousand lien.

“H-How can this be?” Weiss gasped, her mind a maelstrom of thoughts.

Cinder was lying. She had to have been. Weiss was absolutely convinced of that when they faced her all those weeks ago. That’s how that wretched woman worked. Through manipulation and lies. That’s how she rose to her position of power as her father’s right hand. Weiss just knew it. Yet, without any proof, Weiss could do little else as that witch of a woman poisoned the man who ruled the kingdom.

“This is the world we live in,” Jaune said, his voice tired now. “It is a place where anyone with enough influence and lien makes the rules for everyone else. It doesn’t matter if it’s fair or just. Lies are treated as truth. And truth, as lies.”

“Jaune,” Pyrrha said again, putting her hand on her husband's arm. “That's enough.”

“No Pyrrha!” the blonde said, wrenching his arm away, his voice almost booming. “This has to be said!”

He rounded on Weiss again.

“The nobles! The King! They don't even know the half of it! Many of them think we live in some sort of fairytale! But we don't! Here, the wealthy are handed everything on a silver platter, while everyone else fights just to live!”

“What in the world would you know about that!? You have been pampered your entire life!”

Parchment crumpled in her grasp as the hand holding it curled into a fist.

“... you weren't forced to steal just to eat, you weren't forced to live on the streets just to survive...”

Weiss' jaw clenched, her vision quickly blurring with tears.

“You have no idea the life I have lived and the things I have done to just live, Princess. Do not speak as if you do!”

“Y-Yang... you d-dunce...” she whispered to herself, her lips trembling.

This was her fault.

This was all her fault.

The velvet covered rapier shook in Weiss' free hand.

“Why did you have to go and do this now?”

Weiss squeezed her eyes shut, trying to stop the tears from falling.

Then Nora spoke.

“B-Because...” the pinkette said, surprising Weiss.

Watery blue eyes reluctantly met tearful green ones, Weiss gritting her teeth even more as the other girl smiled at her in spite of her tears.

“She wanted you to be free.”

Weiss sniffled, looking at Nora in confusion. Free? Yang wanted her to be free?

“I don't...” she began. “I don't understand.”

“Isn't it obvious?” Jaune said sourly, drawing Weiss' attention back to him. “It was either you, or her, and Yang chose you.”

Weiss stared at Jaune. And stared. And stared. Clearly the blonde was speaking her language, but without context, things weren’t fitting together. Thankfully she wasn’t left in the dark long, the quietest of the Juniper Tavern gang coming to her rescue.

“You see, Princess,” Ren said, as if understanding her plight. “Given the current situation, there was really only two options for the both of you.”

Nora hiccuped, the sound drawing Weiss’ gaze for a moment.

“One,” the bartender continued. “You find your way back to the White Castle, thus disproving your supposed death, but in doing so, dooming yourself to the life you tried so desperately to escape. Or two, Yang turns herself in as Phoenix, leading everyone to believe you are truly dead, allowing you to freely go about your new life however you choose, without fear of your past catching up to you.”

The invisible force previously squeezing her chest was now crushing her.

“No…” Weiss murmured, shaking her head in disbelief. She sucked in a heaving breath. “You're wrong. We could have run away and-”

“Gotten caught sooner than later?” Jaune finished for her.

Weiss was really starting to hate the other blonde, the Juniper Tavern co-owner bearing the full force of her icy, dark glare defiantly. Friend of Yang's or not, there was only a certain amount of rudeness Weiss would tolerate, no matter the circumstance, and Jaune was quickly approaching that limit.

“Princess,” Pyrrha said, the redhead flinching when Weiss' irate scowl fell upon her.

“Please understand. In our line of work, we have learned many secrets over the years, not all of them remaining secrets for long. Had you been one of us, someone of little significance to the kingdom, it would have been possible for you to run away and never be found.”

“But you are not someone of little significance,” Jaune said, picking up where his wife left off. “You are the daughter of the most powerful man in the kingdom, and that same man, along with many of his followers, wants blood in retribution for your supposed death. This madness will not end until the people, and the King, have someone to blame. Do you understand now, Princess?”

Weiss ground her teeth, the bounty poster in her hand tearing between her fingers as her fist clenched even tighter. Her entire body trembled with barely restrained fury, Weiss swearing her teeth would crack if she grated them any harder.

“So what?” she said haughtily after a moment, a low growl in her throat. “While the rest of the kingdom loses itself to madness, I’m expected to sit here while Yang goes to her death, just to... what? Wait until things go back to how they were before, then go about my merry way like none of this ever happened?”

Pyrrha grimaced at that description, but inevitably nodded.

“In not so many words, yes,” the redhead said. “That's exactly what we're telling you to do.”

Weiss took a deep breath, closing her eyes for a moment.

“Fools! The lot of you!” she snarled, Weiss' teeth bared as she pelted the now half torn bounty poster at the stunned quartet before her.

“You call yourselves her friend?!” she continued, her breaths coming out as strangled gasps. “Yet when she needed you the most, what do you do?! You abandon her!”

“Princess!” Pyrrha exclaimed, jumping to her feet from her bar stool. She took a few steps closer to Weiss, a placating hand raised. “Please! It's not that sim-”

“NO!” Weiss cut her off, slicing through the air with the slash of her free hand. “Do not Princess me! My name is Weiss and you will address me as such!”

Huffing loudly, Weiss swallowed to ease her parched throat.

“I may not know much about the world still,” she said, working frantically to reign in her nerves. “But if there is anything I have learned during my time with Yang, it is that friends do not leave friends to die!”

“That’s not fair Weiss,” Pyrrha said, a shaking fist clenched at her side. The redhead’s brow was furled, tears pooling in the corner of brilliant green eyes. “We did everything we could,” the taller girl said.

“Did you really?” Weiss challenged angrily.

“And what were we supposed to do?” Jaune demanded, his voice louder than before. He took an imposing step forwards. “Tie her to a chair until she changed her mind?”

Weiss was not the least bit intimidated by that action.

“I would have!” she exclaimed without hesitation. “Because that would mean she's still here, alive, and not out there, about to get herself killed because of me!”

Droplets of water hit the ground, any retorts the quartet had evidently dying on their lips. Weiss didn’t even realize she was crying until she had to wipe her blurred vision clear of tears with the back of her hand. Yet the tears didn’t stop, if anything, more fell after that.

“F-Freedom, you said?” she stuttered, her voice trembling alongside her body. “Y-Yang wanted me to b-be free, you said?”

Turning towards her antagonizer, she roughly swiped at the tears rolling down her cheeks again.

“If P-Pyrrha suddenly t-told you she’s leaving,” Weiss said. “That s-she’s willingly going off to d-die for you, are you telling m-me you’d just let her go and do that!?”

Jaune and Pyrrha looked at each other just as Weiss fought down a frustrated sob.

“What good is freedom if Yang is dead!?”

She couldn’t. She couldn’t hold it back anymore. The sobs. The tears. The pain. With her head bowed, Weiss squeezed her eyes shut in a vain attempt to hold back her liquid sorrow. But much like the sobs escaping her willing lips, they could not be stopped, even when she pressed the back of her wrist against her closed eyelids. Only when arms wrapped around her and held her tightly did tear filled blue eyes snap open again.

“You love her, don’t you?” Nora said softly, giving Weiss a watery smile.

How and when the pinkette moved, Weiss didn't know. But the gesture was appreciated, the hug comforting, despite the fact her lips continued to tremble and more tears fell.

“She's...”

For so long, Weiss had buried it. Questions. Thoughts. Feelings. When she had first met the busty blonde, Weiss didn’t know what to make of her. While on the outside it appeared she absolutely detested the rogue, that really wasn’t case. Never having met someone quite like brawler, Weiss just didn’t know how she should feel about her, especially when Yang’s true gender came to light. But that was really just a lie, wasn’t it? A little white lie she told herself as she got attached to blonde over the time they spent together. Then, before Weiss knew it, things were different, and she wouldn’t have wanted it any other way.

“She’s all I have,” Weiss said, her voice sounding so small in her ears.

Was this love? Or a passing crush? Or was this something else? It was hard to tell. One thing Weiss knew for a fact however, was that she wouldn’t be able to live without Yang in her life. Not now. Not after all they had been through at this point. If Yang was dead, there would be no point. The blonde was a part of her now. Gods! Yang was the only reason she was even alive right now! Weiss needed Yang to survive as much as her body needed water to live. Whether or not the rogue felt the same way about her, only time would tell. But even if they were to part ways willingly later on, that wouldn’t change how Weiss felt about Yang right now. Weiss’ life was incomplete without Yang. That was all there was to it.

“Go to her, then,” Jaune said, breaking Weiss out of her reverie.

It took her a moment to realize just who was speaking, and when she did, Weiss’ jaw dropped in surprise. Clearly she wasn’t the only one shocked by this sudden change in attitude, Pyrrha also gawking at her life partner, her eyebrows raised. Ren could only smile.

“I was wrong about you, Princess,” Jaune said. “Weiss,” he quickly corrected. The blonde left the bar to stand in front of Weiss.

Nora took this time to withdraw, moving to stand next to Ren near the bar. At his companion’s approach, the bartender wrapped his arm around the pinkette’s shoulders, letting her nuzzle into his side.

“When Yang first told me what she planned to do, I thought she was making a mistake,” Jaune explained. “She didn't know nobles and royals like we did. She didn't know the underhanded tactics they used to get what they wanted. As far as I was concerned, you were no different to the ones we had dealt with in the past.”

Jaune looked down at the floor for a moment.

“Yang...” he said, raising his gaze. “She’s practically family to me. To us. She has such a big heart, one that’s been hurt so many times now, by so many people who took her kindness for granted. I didn't want to see her hurt again. Not after-”

Jaune swallowed thickly, his breath catching in his throat.

“Jaune...” Pyrrha said softly. Frowning, the redhead moved to her husband's side and rubbed his back.

“When I tried to convince her not to go, she told she had to, because you were something special,” the blonde started again. “I didn't believe her when she said that. I was too angry at the time for not being able to change her mind. So I did the only thing I could think of. I blamed you. But now, I see that was a mistake. Yang was right. You are something special, and it’s taken me this long to realize it.”

With a hand over his chest, Jaune bowed to her, making Weiss’ eyebrows raise in surprise.

“Please accept my deepest apologies, Princess,” Jaune said. “For not giving you a chance when I should have.”

Weiss stared at the bowing man for a few seconds, needing a moment to process his words. When she was sure what she had heard was true, the former princess glanced at the other three with them, each one of them giving her an encouraging smile or nod. Taking a moment to dry her eyes, Weiss stood up straight, facing the Juniper Tavern co-owner.

“You are forgiven Messere Arc,” she said. “And please, it's just Weiss now.”

“Thank you, your Hi-I mean, Weiss,” Jaune said straightening up. “And please, just call me Jaune.”

Jaune smiled, earning him a small smile back from Weiss.

“Apologies aside,” Ren said, breaking up the moment. “I believe we’ve dawdled enough. If you are to stop Yang before she carries through with her plans, you must do it now.”

“Right,” Weiss said, snapping back to the matter at hand. “Where is she headed?”

“The Capital City,” Pyrrha replied, her expression grim. “She intends to turn herself in to the Royal Guardsmen when she gets there.”

Weiss swallowed thickly, memories of when she was previously there leaving a bad taste in her mouth.

“Knowing her,” the redhead continued. “She’ll probably take the long way around the Emerald Forest now, given her most recent experiences. If you follow the main path around the forest and cut through the Cliffs of Beacon, you should be able to catch up to her on horseback.”

Weiss nodded, her brow furling as she took in that information. While that had put to ease one question she had, there was still one other on Weiss’ mind.

“Surely it will take more than her proclamation of being Phoenix to convince the guards,” Weiss stated, her gaze lowering as she sifted through all the possible outcomes. “Otherwise any peasant with a brown cloak and yellow scarf would have been brought to them a long time ago, ending this whole debacle. Yet the issue still remains.”

Feet shuffled uneasily, a hand clutching at a dark red sleeve.

“She has proof.”

A shiver ran down her spine at those words, Weiss' gaze darting to Pyrrha in an instant.

“What do you mean she has proof?” she demanded, her heart starting to beat faster. “What could she possible have that-”

“She has your jacket, Weiss,” Jaune said, not letting her finish.

Weiss swore the room was spinning.

“W-What?” she said shakily.

Ever since she found her way here, Weiss had forgotten all about the personal effects from her previous life. Aside from her silver hairpiece, everything else including her jacket stained with Yang’s blood, was discarded, the grime and blood (both human and Grimm) staining them having left her belongings ruined. Those things were supposed to have been burned a while ago, to erase all trace of her existence here for all of their safety. To be found with any of those things, especially her bloodied jacket, the Schnee symbol elaborately stitched on the back of it, would instantly mean death for the carrier. To hear that Yang of all people had it on her person, the blonde making her way to the capital city…

“I’m sorry, Weiss,” Pyrrha said, on the verge of tears. “That was my fault.”

Weiss stared at the redhead in disbelief.

“I had been meaning to burn everything as was decided weeks ago,” Pyrrha continued, her voice shaky. “But with the madness from the capital spilling over even here, I never got the chance to. I only noticed it missing this morning, after we realized Yang had left during the night.”

The redhead bowed deeply.

“I am so sorry.”

Weiss’ free hand balled at her side, the ex-heiress clenching her jaw.

“Yang, you dunce…” she whispered to herself, Weiss blinking rapidly against the fresh burn of tears. “You foolish, ridiculous dunce…”

She didn’t deserve this. She didn’t deserve this kindness. That Yang would go so far, for her, Weiss couldn’t even begin to understand the mix of emotions running through her at that thought. She would never be able to repay Yang, or the rogue’s friends, for what they had done for her. Not in this lifetime at least. But even so, Weiss was determined to do exactly that. One way or another.

Starting now.

“I need a horse,” Weiss said, a steel to her gaze now. There was no waver in her voice this time, her words firm and commanding. Looking down at the velvet bag in her hand, she untied the top of it, withdrawing the rapier within.

“Weiss, you-” Pyrrha began, her head snapping up in surprise.

“Take mine!” Nora exclaimed, untangling herself from Ren. Long gone were the tears in the pinkette’s eyes, now only eager anticipation showing, as the pinkette caught on to what Weiss intended to do.

“It’s been a while since Magnhild Junior went out on a run,” Nora babbled, zipping towards the tavern doors. “But don’t worry! He’ll get ya where ya need to be. He’s a good horsey!”

With that said, the hammer wielder disappeared out of view, darting off to the left for the private stables located near the back of the property as soon as she was out of the doors.

“But Weiss-” Pyrrha tried again, only to fall silent when Jaune put a hand on her shoulder. The blonde shook his head.

“This is something only she can do,” he said. “You understand that now, don’t you, Weiss?”

Weiss nodded to Jaune, soon after turning to look at the tavern doors when she heard the clomping of hooves outside, followed by the whiny of a horse.

“Ren.”

At the call of his name, the bartender reached behind the bar to retrieve a white leather satchel. Closing the distance between himself and Weiss in five steps, he held the bag up for her to take.

“You’ll need this,” Ren said.

Uncertain as to what this was all about, Weiss gingerly took the bag from green dressed man and peered inside. There she found a set of clothes, her silver hair piece, a smaller leather pouch which jingled when it shifted in her grasp, a few rolled up scrolls of parchment and a leather skin which smelled absolutely heavenly. That last one was probably food.

“What is this?” she asked, looking at the trio in confusion.

A smile from Jaune.

“Yang wanted you to have that,” the blonde said. “It’s everything you’ll need to start afresh.”

“A change of attire, your personal effects, some spending lien to get you started,” Ren began, following up on Jaune’s words. “There’s also Pyrrha’s sweet bread and some cheese should you get hungry on your journey. And should you get stopped at the gates, you’ll find the documents inside will fool even the most stringent of inspectors into believing you’re Winter Snow, a simple citizen of Atlas.”

Blinking in surprise, Weiss found herself gawking, absolutely speechless. Before she knew it, Nora was back, the pinkette letting her know Magnhild Junior was ready to go. With special instructions, whatever that meant.

“I…” Weiss began, her mouth opening and closing, but no words coming out.

“Thank you all so much,” she said, once she got her wits about her a moment later. “I promise to pay you back somehow.”

“Please Weiss,” Pyrrha said, smiling. The redhead put a hand on Weiss’ shoulder.

“That is not necessary. Yang is a part of our family. And now, so are you.”

Another smile, this time, Nora tackling Weiss in a side hug.

“We always take care of our own,” Pyrrha finished.

Weiss struggled not to cry again, an especially hard feat now that had been all said and done. Somehow she managed anyhow, Weiss even laughing a little bit when Nora gushed all over her about getting a new sister. Apparently you needn’t be blood for that to happen, the pinkette, along with the others just those kind of people.

“Thank you, all of you,” Weiss said, a quiver to her voice. Her gaze washed over them all warmly.

“I promise I won’t let you down.”

“We know you won't, Weiss,” Jaune said. “We believe you. Now hurry along. If you want to catch up to Yang, you don't have much time left.”

“Of course,” Weiss said, quickly turning to the tavern entrance, following behind a bouncing Nora.

“And Weiss?”

Weiss paused in her steps to look back over her shoulder.

“When you find Yang again, tell her how you really feel.”

Jaune wrapped an arm around his wife’s shoulders, Pyrrha resting her head on his shoulder, smiling.

“Some secrets are not meant to be kept secrets.”