The Beast And The Fairy (ch12)

A big thank you to the patrons who are sticking around for me! It really helps me out, so thank you so much!

A/N: I know Winter seems super OOC in this fic now that the canon is revealing more about her. Just roll with it and remember I wrote this many months in advance.

Disclaimer: I do not own RWBY.

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						Chapter 12. Difficult Decisions

The Fairy King sat upon his armchair with his head buried in his hands.

Long, heavy sighs repeatedly tumbled past his cracked lips, filling his tree-carved home with regret and fear. His missing daughter's room was still vacant and untouched, as it had been since she'd left for a simple water patrol a few days prior.

The other fairies who had been in Weiss' group to retrieve water had told the King everything, how his daughter had valiantly stood up to the beasts who had ambushed them, how she'd bargained with them for the fairies' safety by jeopardizing her own, and how she'd succeeded in getting exactly what she wanted.

None of the fairies that had returned home had sustained a single scratch thanks to Weiss.

But now his daughter was being held captive by the beasts, and he knew they probably weren't being very hospitable to her. Was she scared? He liked to believe she was strong enough to fight off such fear, but he couldn't be certain.

He wondered if she'd been fed within the past two days, wondered if she'd slept at all.

With a groan, he shook his head and released another sigh.

Not a moment later, a gentle tapping sound came at the window. He looked up to see Winter drifting in, her bare feet landing on the wooden floors without a sound as she folded her wings. He tried to smile up at her, reminding himself he was thankful that she was unharmed.

"Winter. How goes the gathering?"

She kept her back straight and eyes forward, lips pursed and expression taut.

"All the fairies have gathered over half of our precious gems. They've brought out their medallions and jewelry that is infused with magics. Everyone is willing to trade them in exchange for Weiss' safe return."

The old king smiled sadly and lowered his gaze.

"My people are good at heart. They have kind souls. They're willing to give up the last of their magics for her, even though they all must know what this means."

Winter padded a bit closer to him. Despite her hard exterior and the front she was trying to put up, he knew her too well. He could see the anguish in her eyes no matter how adamantly she tried to conceal it. She was worried for her sister and for her people as well.

"We all know what it means," she said. "Once the beasts have all of our stones, they'll have the majority of our magics as well. They will be omnipotent in this forest. They will take over, and they'll probably enslave the fairies."

The king closed his eyes; he'd known and considered the outcome many times already in his mind, but hearing it said aloud made the reality all the harsher.

"I know that is most likely," he confessed. "But once we have your sister back, we can begin to retaliate. We'll form a plan to counterattack and fight back. We won't surrender our forests to these beasts. But we might have to put on the facade for a while, though."

Winter nodded glumly.

"But if... if we rebel against them and cause an uprising-"

"It will cause a war for sure," her father finished. "I know it will." He lifted his face, and his tired grey eyes met hers. "But aren't we already in one?"

Winter dipped her head and was silent. The king leaned his head back and closed his eyes.

"Please have everyone continue gathering their stones. Sunrise tomorrow is our deadline."

"Yes, father."

He listened to the quiet sounds of her moving away toward the window, then the rush of air that took her away.

A silence ensued, with nothing on the air but the distant songs of birds and the breath of the wind.

The king was still and listened, knowing this may be the last time he ever heard such tranquility in these woods.

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. . .

Weiss' conscious trickled back to her, feeling spreading throughout her body in little prickles that chased away the numbness of slumber.

She didn't open her eyes just yet, but instead focused on something that hadn't been present the previous two mornings.

It was warm, and for a long moment she fooled herself into believing she was back at home, safely curled on her bed and tucked away beneath her favorite quilts.

Blake had woken a short while in advance of the sunrise, finding Weiss still in her arms. The bramble thicket had done its job in keeping them safe last night, at the very least.

Her eyes kept flicking over to Ruby and Yang, who were now beginning to stir, indicating this time of calm would soon be over.

Blake did her best to savor it for all it was worth. Her arms were looped around Weiss loosely, encircling her shoulders and the small of her back.

Blake had felt for herself several times before the strangeness of a fairy's weight, how it was never actually as much as the eye determined it should be. Even now, she was puzzled by just how delicate Weiss seemed, how soft she felt, how almost indistinguishable it was to feel her breathing.

Blake almost feared she'd be blown away if the wind ever picked up too much.

But she knew for herself that Weiss wasn't just some fragile, breakable little thing, even if her appearance might sometimes make her out to be so.

Weiss was a brave warrior and a skilled fighter, with incomparable wit. She'd devised the plan to lead Adam away from her innocent people within seconds, and had successfully ensured their safe return home at the potential cost of her own life.

She'd been half-drowned by the waterfall, thrown against boulders and weakened by physical injuries, and yet she'd valiantly defended herself and her territory against Blake before Weiss had known she posed no threat.

Weiss was a strong girl, fearless but not foolish. She thought with her mind and obeyed logic. But she also had her values, and listened to her heart when it truly mattered.

Blake reflected on last night, how Weiss had refused to tear herself free from the thorns if it meant destroying her mother's flowers. Weiss would have rather died with that piece of her mother still intact beside her rather than leave her mother's spirit behind.

So for Weiss to give up something so precious only when Blake's life was in danger...

She knew what that meant, and she was scared to acknowledge it.

She knew what their elongated embraces, concerned glances, and firm holds on each others' hands meant. And she feared it was too late to go back, too late to step away and pretend it had never happened, or that it didn't exist.

Blake didn't know what would become of them when they got back home.

She blinked away the haze of her thoughts when Weiss stirred in her arms. A small whimper escaped her lips, and her brow became furrowed.

Gently, Blake reached out a hand to smooth the girl's bangs, running her fingers through Weiss' long, loose tresses to calm her.

Leaning forward, she nuzzled her nose against the fairy's neck and let out a small purr. It only rumbled louder when Weiss moved closer, the limp grip on Blake's hip tightening just a bit.

Blake didn't want to move. She didn't want this to end.

And neither did Weiss. She continued her guise of sleep, ignoring the sunrise as it tapped her back with its warm yellow fingers. Hearing the soft rumble in Blake's throat, Weiss couldn't stop herself from moving closer, pressing their stomachs together.

The vibrations of Blake's purr filled Weiss' chest, and she couldn't explain why, but it soothed her. Her head found Blake's shoulder, and it wasn't long before her ear found a pulse. Weiss listened for a while, committing the beat to memory. It felt just like her own – scared, determined, maybe even a little excited.

It was difficult to pull away, but at long last she did just that, stretching her arms a bit behind the beast girl's back and hiding a yawn into her own elbow.

Blake loosened her grip and let Weiss move as she needed to, realizing that their time to be silent and still together was over.

She was about to sit herself up and call out to Ruby and Yang to rouse them, but two piercing blue eyes stopped her, stealing her breath away before she could find it.

She watched as Weiss sat herself up on her knees, those azure pools clear and focused, concealing an ounce of fear, but painted mostly by resoluteness. She pulled on Blake's forearm to have her sit up as well, until they were face to face.

"Weiss..." Blake swallowed, not understanding why the girl was making such a serious expression. "What's-"

"Blake."

Her voice was firm, low, and decisive. It made Blake's ears perk in surprise, but swivel forward to listen better, giving Weiss her full attention.

The fairy's gaze dropped down for a second, then traveled back up over Blake's person. She sucked in a clipped breath, and then continued in a taut whisper.

"Blake... I know what's happening here. I know. I'm not a fool."

Blake flinched, and her ears and tail drooped a bit. She'd been hoping to just keep it all a secret, that if they each kept quiet about the obvious feelings blossoming between them that those feelings would eventually wither away and die.

But Weiss held true to her straightforwardness and was addressing this head-on, and she was making Blake do the same. The beast girl sighed, shaking her head a little, but ultimately returning her gaze to Weiss'.

"Weiss, I don't-"

"I don't know either," the princess murmured. "I don't know... how it happened or why, or what we have to do to stop it... Or why I don't want to stop it..."

Blake felt a pang go through her heart, but as Weiss added the final statement, a trickle of hope soon followed it.

Weiss didn't want to cut this budding blossom, either.

Blake straightened her back and held Weiss' gaze as the fairy continued speaking.

"Since I've met you, Blake... I've learned so much. About you and your people, and about myself and mine. We may have wings, and you may have tails... but our hearts are the same."

She didn't waver as she said this. She didn't even blink. She was speaking from her very soul, and she wanted Blake to know as much.

And Blake understood. She'd known many of these things herself, but it had taken Weiss' addressing them to truly make her face the facts.

She found she was speechless in the face of Weiss' declarations. Blake could only nod her head and do her best to fight back the sting behind her eyes. She bit her lip to keep it from trembling, then cleared her throat.

"Weiss..."

"I've heard it, Blake," the fairy murmured. "You may not have said it in words, but I heard it in your heart. Mine says the same thing." She blinked once, and when here eyelids lifted again, the irises and pools of blue underneath seemed even more brilliant than before. "We can't ignore this, Blake. Nor can we deny it. It is here, and it is all too real."

Blake sniffed once, trying to keep her emotions in check to little avail.

"Weiss... I... How can we...?" She reached her arms out for Weiss, and the fairy didn't refuse her.

Blake was pulled in by soft hands, feeling small fingers threading through her hair and all down her back. Her head was tucked beneath Weiss' chin, and her ear pointedly pressed to the girl's collar. Weiss' heartbeat was fast and loud beneath, pounding with adrenaline and affection, much the same as Blake's.

Weiss was right. They were the same.

Blake listened for a moment as if to confirm it, clutching the fairy's waist to draw her closer.

"What can we do?" she whispered.

She heard Weiss' sharp intake of breath, but Blake didn't look up. Somewhere inside herself, she felt she'd already known Weiss' answer long before she gave it.

"You know... what we can do," the fairy breathed tautly. "Don't make me say it."

Blake swallowed down the lump working its way up her throat.

She knew the answer. They both did.

Returning to their homes as they were now – entangled in a star-crossed love between their species – would only cause chaos, disagreement, and anger amongst their warring peoples.

There was one surefire thing they could do to prevent that.

Weiss' unspoken suggestion had been tacked to the back of Blake's mind since she'd held Weiss in her arms last night.

They could run away.

They could turn away from the path that would lead them home and simply disappear.

They could forget about their people, their friends and their families, forget about the laws set in place, forget about the violence and the arguments.

They could run and be free together.

They could leave their old lives behind and start anew.

Neither of them would ever have dreamed to consider such a thing had their affections for one another been anything but genuine.

Blake didn't want to think about it, but each passing second was another beat of Weiss' distraught heartbeat in her ears. She pulled away to seek those familiar eyes, finding them reflecting her own, ridden with guilt and uncertainty.

They'd both gone so far as to consider throwing away everything they'd ever known for one another. Each girl trusted the other with her life. Each girl valued the other's life above her own.

This wasn't just a desperate display of affection they would've thrown at anyone who happened to stand beside them in such dire times.

This was real.

This was love.

Blake closed her eyes for a moment to collect her thoughts. It was the sounds of soft sobbing that had her looking up again.

Weiss had a hand pressed to her mouth, both eyes brimming with tears that were promptly spilling over. Blake's stomach twisted, and she reached out to grasp Weiss' other hand in hers.

"We can't," she said quietly. "We can't and we both know it."

To her relief and regret, Weiss nodded in agreement.

They both loved one another. But they both knew that running away and leaving behind their problems wasn't going to fix them.

To run would be to admit cowardice and helplessness, and to leave their people to shed each others' blood for generations to come.

As strongly as they felt towards one another, they couldn't abandon their people.

Knowing that they weren't alone in their loyalties only strengthened their affections for one another. But they couldn't run away, and they both knew it.

At the very least, now they both knew they wouldn't have to feel so guilty for even having considered running; thinking about an action was not the same as committing it.

Considering it demonstrated how deeply they cared for one another, but failing to act on it demonstrated how deeply they cared for everyone else they refused to leave behind.

Weiss sighed, wiping the back of her hand over her cheeks. Blake ducked her face into her shoulder to clear her own eyes, then leaned forward, resting her forehead against Weiss'.

"Weiss... Once we get back home... we won't-"

"I know, Blake," she rasped. "I know."

They wouldn't be able to be together any longer.

Their short-lived romance would have to be severed indefinitely, lest the soiled blood between their peoples became even dirtier.

At best, they had one more day and one more night left to be together.

Blake hissed a curse under her breath, feeling as Weiss' shoulders slumped.

Their sacrifice would benefit their people. It had to.

Slowly, Blake leaned forward, brushing her nose against Weiss' cheek. She pressed her lips into a sweet, longing kiss over the soft, pale skin.

Weiss turned her face, holding a kiss of her own to Blake's hairline, over her temple, where her pulse beat underneath.

And then they parted, all too soon.

They helped one another wipe away the last of their tears. With heavy hearts, they steeled their resolve. Blake took Weiss' hands and got to her feet, and they stood together.

The beast girl roused their companions, and Ruby and Yang quickly got into position to lead them.

"The wolves set us back," Yang grunted. "They chased us in the opposite direction of where we need to go."

"We would've been there by now," Ruby added. "But now it'll take us another day..."

Weiss and Blake shared an uneasy glance, but there was only one thing they could do now.

"Then please lead us onward," Weiss requested.

Yang and Ruby both nodded, then took off past the brambles and into the forest.

Blake cleared a path for Weiss and herself to follow out of the thorns.

But once they were out of the thicket, Weiss paused in her steps. Her wings quivered in the breeze, her long, unbound hair tracing the path of the wind. She looked back over her shoulder, to the forest beyond, to the places she'd never been before-

-to the places she could still go to, together with Blake...

But a hand soon enveloped hers and tugged her gently forward.

Weiss looked up into those pained golden eyes, knowing Blake felt her indecision just as strongly. The beast girl held the fairy's gaze for a moment, then guided her forward after Ruby and Yang.

"Come on," she murmured. "Let's go home."

Weiss nodded, and two more tears fell away to the forest floor to seep into the soil.

All they could do now was hold onto the other's hand that had become so familiar within such a short amount of time.

And they held on tightly, knowing it would be one of the last times.

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A/N: A bit of a slow-paced chapter after a high-intensity one. Things are beginning to wind down and the final climax will soon be upon us!