Isolation

Espial

-Three months since Whitley's initial meeting with Jaune-

Weiss Schnee, heiress of the Schnee Dust Company, laid in her bed. The last few months have been rocky for her to say the least. She had never felt more alone. Winter was unavailable, her father was a bastard, her mother a mess, and Whitley was stonewalling her.

She had tried her best to find a path to follow. Tried her best to impress her father with her voice. Tried her best to stir something in her mother. Yet, her actions were nothing but frivolous wastes of time. Her only option left was to follow Winter's path.

Weiss would be a hero. Someone Winter could be proud of. Her parents would be forced to acknowledge her talents. To no longer look upon her as just the spare child. To no longer see her as Winter's replacement.

Weiss pulled herself out from underneath her bed covers. She draped a small blanket over her shoulders as she headed to the window of her room. Heavy snow, her final winter before forging a new path.

Her gaze lingered on the outside world dotted in snow. Weiss had a perfect view of the back of the estate from her room. A recent addition to the yard caught her eyes. A firing range created for the personal use of her brother. A flash of jealousy and regret gripped her heart.

Weiss had thought Whitley was lost to her. She had thought his heart had frozen under the harsh grip of their father. She had been proven wrong. One butler, it took one butler. Whitley had smiled more times in the last few months than she had seen him in years.

Weiss pressed a single hand against her glass window. The cold of the outside world spread down her fingertips. A part of her knew she should have done more for her brother. Knew she could have been for him what Winter was to her. Yet, she couldn't bring herself to do so.

Weiss had too much on her plate to handle. Her father was grooming her to be the heir after Winter's falling out with him. She had all those hours of singing practice to attend in her pursuit of becoming a singer. All those hours she spent with Winter in her youth to practice her martial prowess. Whitley had fallen to the wayside. It took a new member of the staff for her to even notice it.

Her lack of actions regarding Whitley was lamentable. Even buried in her regrets, she couldn't bring herself to take action now. It simply would not be fair with her current plans. Why would she try to repair her relationship with Whitley only to then leave him behind to become a Huntsman? No, such interference would be pointless. The butler was already completing a duty she had long forsaken.

Soft knocking at her door broke her out of her spiraling mood. She tightened her grip on the blanket draping her shoulder as she headed to the door. She wordlessly cracked the door open, only to see someone she didn't know how to treat. The blonde butler stood in the hallway holding a serving platter with a single steaming mug.

"Good morning, Miss Schnee. I have prepared one morning cocoa to assist you in fighting off this dreadful cold," he spoke with a smile.

Weiss stared into his eyes, "Your real reason for being here? Are you not the personal servant of Whitley?"

His smile wavered, "Master Whitley stayed up rather late last night attending personal tutoring. I thought it would be best for him to sleep in during the holiday. May I enter?"

"You may, I suppose. I do appreciate the hot chocolate, but I would rather you get to the point of this visit. Speak your mind, I owe you that much at least," her last words were whispered under her breath.

Jaune entered her room, placing the mug of hot chocolate at the small table next to her armchair before moving back to the door. Weiss moved away from the door to take a seat at the armchair near her bookshelf. She sipped from the warm mug as she waited to hear the words of the man who did what she could not.