RWBY: The Stepmother

Chapter 1: Willow Is Dead

Weiss Schnee did not have the happiest of childhoods. Sure, she was the heiress to the Schnee Dust Company, the largest producer of Dust in Atlas, possibly even Remnant. Sure, her family was obscenely wealthy and influential, especially her father. And sure, she never grew up wanting something that couldn't be brought with the right amount of Lien. But when all was said and done, there was always ever one thing that Weiss had wanted, and it just so happened to be the one thing that no amount of money in the world could buy: a proper family.

From an outside perspective, Weiss had nothing to complain about. She had everything that most people could only dream about. Wealth, servants, a vast mansion, and even a singing career to top it all off. But one only needed to spend one day in the Schnee Manor to realize that the life of a heiress was not all it's cracked to be. Her father, Jacques Schnee, was a cold and ruthless businessman who cared more about his wealth and reputation than his own family. To him, Weiss was nothing more than a pawn, a doll for him to groom into whatever he wanted. As a result, she was constantly under immense pressure to be the perfect little heiress.

She was only six years old, for Oum's sake!

There were only two people who provided any sort of comfort to her. One was the family butler, Klein Sieben. Whether it was supporting her in her endeavors or making her laugh, he ironically proved to be much more of a father than Jacques could ever hope to be.

The other person was her older sister, Winter Schnee. She was quite stern and mature, for a twelve year old. That was no fault of her own. She had no choice but to mature faster than most kids her age, especially in such a cold and oppressive environment. But despite all of that, Winter cared for her little sister very much, even if she doesn't show it that often.

Then there was her younger brother, Whitley, and her mother, Willow. Whitley was a spoiled brat who took after his father more often than not. At such a young age, the boy was pompous, conniving, childish, and selfish, even towards his own sisters.

Willow was their mother. Now she is dead.

What happened to her was a complete mystery. A servant found her in bed, staring up at the ceiling with blank, glassy eyes. Klein, who was also the family doctor, could not explain the reason behind her sudden death. While drinking wine all day certainly did her no favors, Willow was still relatively healthy for a woman her age. And yet, Klein's diagnosis showed that in the middle of the night, every single organ in her body simultaneously shut down.

Initially, Jacques suspected foul play. He believed that an intruder, possibly a White Fang agent, snuck into his wife's bedroom and poisoned her in her sleep. It wouldn't be the first time one of those filthy animals tried to make an attempt on their lives. But there was no needle mark on Willow's body, nor was there any sign that she had ingested anything poisonous.

Later on, a quick funeral was held for the deceased woman, and after that, life moved on for the Schnee family. Jacques couldn't care less about his wife being dead, although the event did cause him to heighten security around the manor. Weiss and Winter, on the other hand, felt quite bad for their recently deceased mother. Though neither of them were ever really close to her, what with her being perpetually drunk and all, they still mourned for her. Even Whitley felt rather guilty that her death was brushed under the rug so quickly and callously.

It sounds horrible, doesn't it? You must be saying to yourself, "Surely the lives of those poor children couldn't get any worse than this!" Unfortunately, you would be wrong.

Because it wasn't long... before Mother arrived.