Beyond The Stables (ch2)

EARLY RELEASE FOR HIGH-PLEDGING PATRONS!

Here's chapter 2! We'll find out a bit about Winter and the Schnee sisters' situation!

Disclaimer: I do not own RWBY.

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												Chapter 2. Lessons At Lunchtime

When she awoke the next morning, the first thing Weiss felt was mortification due to last night's events.

Everything came rushing back to her, and she moaned in embarrassment, flipping herself over and burying her face into the pillow. She could feel a dull pain in her back, the result of when she'd fallen to the stable floor, no doubt.

/There's no way I'll be able to try again tonight.../

With a sigh, she laid there for a few more minutes, planning out her next move in her head.

She'd wait a few more nights before making another attempt at night-riding. This way, she'd give her body time to stop aching, and she'd avoid too much suspicion from the maids, guards, and the stablehand.

Therefore, that day, Weiss kept to her usual routine.

She got dressed and went down to the kitchen for breakfast with her family, then readied herself for her home-schooling lessons.

It was a beautiful spring day, but Weiss spent it inside as per usual.

At least until her lunchtime hour, during which she immediately grabbed herself a sandwich, and a bottle of water, and rushed outside to breathe.

It was the same scents as always, horses and hay and soil, but she loved it.

She walked down the same path she'd taken the night before, now bathed in bright sunlight, taking an occasional bite out of her sandwich as she went.

She passed by several of her father's workers, and as soon as she got to the corral where riding lessons were held, she paused to lean against the fence once more.

She observed as per usual, listening to the instructor explaining the purpose of today's session. A course had been set up, and the students were to control their horses and complete it in a certain way.

Weiss watched as they went one by one, first a chestnut mare, then a buckskin, a black stallion, and a speckled-grey quarter horse. She admired the shine on their pelts, the graceful movements of their bodies even as they were temporarily suspended in midair over the jumps, the landings where hooves would send dust flying up around them.

A few of the horses shied away from the jumps at the last second, and those riders needed to trot away and get back in line to try again.

Weiss took another bite of her sandwich as she watched this happen to a young brown stallion. He nickered nervously at the hurdle and backed away. The rider patted his neck and steered him back to the fence.

Weiss gave a sympathetic sigh as she watched the horse.

When a voice suddenly spoke in her ear, she jolted and gasped aloud.

"That's too bad."

"Wha-?!"

Her heart leapt into her throat at the unexpected newcomer's voice, and Weiss ended up dropping the remaining half of her sandwich into the dirt below. She spun around to find a familiar face beside her, grinning toothily.

"Ruby?"

"The one and only!" She greeted her, then noticed the lost lunch and cried out. "Waaaah, I'm so sorry! Did I scare you that badly?"

"Just a bit," Weiss grumbled, putting a hand on her chest. "That seems to be all you've done to me so far."

"Ahh, sorry. I thought I was pretty noisy walking over here just now. I figured you heard me, but I guess you were just super focused on the horses."

Weiss snorted slightly, then directed her gaze back to the animals.

"Perhaps..."

Ruby took a step forward and leaned against the fence beside her.

"You really love horses, don't you, Weiss?"

"What kind of a question is that? Of course I do. I've been around them my entire life. It's been my family's business for generations. It's impossible not to love them."

"Ah, I get it! You're so lucky, Weiss!"

The older girl cast a glance to her side, missed Ruby's gaze, and then looked away.

"Not really..." she muttered.

Ruby's smile faded, and she was about to ask something else.

But the rider on the quarter horse who'd failed the jump before was trying again, and both girls wanted to watch.

To Weiss, it looked like he had a good running start this time, but again, the horse skidded to a halt and veered away from the hurdle. Unknowingly, she snapped her fingers in frustration.

"Gaaah!" Ruby, on the other hand, was a bit more vocal about it. "Ugh, that rider!"

Weiss quirked an eyebrow and turned to her.

"The rider?"

"Yeah! He's the one who's scared of the jump, not Oatmeal! Horses can sense human fear and that rider keeps hesitating at the last second. That's why Oatmeal can't make the jump! Put an experienced rider on his back and he could do it no problem."

Weiss was so enthralled listening to Ruby's little rant that she hadn't noticed the riding instructor was doing just that.

She had the original rider dismount, then took Oatmeal for herself. She held herself with confidence, her posture firm and eyes focused. With the right gallop forming, she steered the horse towards the hurdle. Then, in one clean motion, they cleared it, landing satisfyingly on the other side.

Ruby and Weiss both cheered softly at the accomplishment.

The instructor then proceeded to tell the other riders exactly what Ruby had just told Weiss. The white-haired girl blinked in amazement.

"Wow. You really know a lot about them, don't you?"

"Eheehee, I mean I guess. I've only been working here for two years, though. I'm sure there's a lot more for me to learn, and I want to learn everything about horses!"

"You and I both," Weiss murmured.

At that, Ruby gave her a puzzled look.

"What? You said it yourself, this is the family business! You've been here your whole life, right? So I'd think you'd know tons more than me, Weiss."

"Well, I don't," she snapped, though it was less harsh and more regretful.

Ruby could tell right away she was frustrated rather than angry. But she knew it wasn't her place to press further on the issue. She supposed even the daughter of a wealthy man like Mr. Schnee still had hardships and a lot of stress to deal with.

Ruby had assumed Weiss had it easy simply because she didn't sleep in a stable every night.

"Sorry," Ruby mumbled.

Weiss sighed and shook her head.

"No, it's fine. Don't worry about it."

With the riding lessons about to come to an end, the pair turned away.

But Ruby didn't want Weiss to leave yet, so she fumbled for something more to say.

"So, are you gonna got for another walk tonight? If you are, don't worry about waking me! I'd love to come along!" she offered.

Weiss blinked at her, the corners of her lips curling upward for a split second before dropping once more.

"Not tonight. I'm still... a little sore from last night."

"Oh. Ahhh, I'm sorry again!" Ruby wailed. "It's my fault for thinking you were a suspicious person and if I hadn't scared you then Zuri wouldn't have gotten upset and knocked you down and almost killed you and-"

"Calm down," Weiss said. She reached out and gave a light flick to Ruby's forehead to silence her. "I'm so unskilled with the horses, I was bound to mess up sometime. I would've set him off and he probably would have trampled me. If you hadn't been there to soothe him, I don't know where I'd be right now. Probably a hospital."

Ruby rubbed her forehead with a mumbled "owwie", but listened well to Weiss. It only added a dozen more questions to the list Ruby already wanted to ask her, but she forced herself to refrain.

"Okay... So not tonight?"

"Not tonight," Weiss confirmed. "I have a lot of assignments to do, anyway. I've got to focus on those first and foremost or else-" She abruptly cut herself off, realizing she was about to babble more than she wanted to reveal. "I've just got to do my schoolwork first. That's all."

"I see..." Ruby's shoulders fell a little bit. She herself didn't have to go to school anymore or get lessons or anything like that. All she had to do was take care of the horses, and she loved that.

Ruby enjoyed every day doing her job, grooming them and cleaning their stalls. She had no idea what Weiss' day entailed, but it didn't sound like any fun at all.

She noticed Weiss was rubbing the back of her head a bit, and Ruby realized she was still in a bit of pain from last night, so perhaps taking tonight to rest would be for the better.

"Okay then," she said at last. "Well, the next time you wanna go out for a walk at night, just find me and I'll come with you!"

Weiss flashed her an uncertain glance. She wasn't sure if she was intent to take Ruby up on that offer, or if she should just say she would and then not follow through.

"Alright," she nodded. "Next time... I'll come find you."

"Great!" Ruby beamed.

Weiss almost spared the second to smile as well.

But before she could, something else came as a bit of a distraction.

"Oh! Hey, Weiss-"

Ruby's surprised warning came a bit too late, though. Weiss felt a bump on her back against the fence, which sent her stumbling forward a few steps. Ruby quickly reached out to steady her with an arm around her stomach.

"What-?"

Weiss turned around to find that a chestnut mare without a rider had wandered over to inspect the sandwich Weiss had dropped earlier. It was only bread, lettuce and some vegetable slices, and before either of them knew it, the horse had gobbled it up. Ruby giggled a bit.

"Well, at least it didn't go to waste!" she said, letting go of Weiss. "But sorry again for startling you and making you lose your lunch, Weiss."

But Weiss' eyes were fixated on the horse that had trotted over, and her reply was more than a little distracted.

"It's fine," she murmured.

The mare lifted her head and shook it, giving a greeting whinny to the girls.

Despite how frequently Weiss visited the corral, it wasn't every day she got to pet one of the horses. Slowly, she reached out her hand towards the mare's muzzle, and the horse raised its lips a bit.

But before she could make contact, Ruby quickly interjected.

"Whoa there!" She grasped Weiss' wrist and pulled it back just seconds before the mare nipped the air, right where her fingers had just been. "You okay, Weiss?" she checked. "She just ate so if you go putting you palm out like that, she'll probably think you've got more food and give you a bite!"

Weiss blinked, her eyes traveling down to her hand for a minute and then going back up to the horse.

"How stupid am I?" she sighed.

"No, hey!" Ruby soothed. "Don't say that! You said yourself that you don't get to spend a lot of time with the horses, so it's only natural you don't know their behavior too well. I mean, you spend every day cooped up in that mansion just-" Ruby quickly slapped a palm to her mouth, realizing she was bad-mouthing her boss' estate. "W-Well, I mean... uh..."

But Weiss wasn't upset at her – she was more upset at herself than anything else.

"Don't worry about it," she said. "You're not wrong, after all."

Weiss was finally smiling now, but Ruby didn't like it. It was a bitter smile, forlorn in a way, and she knew Weiss was embarrassed at herself and resentful of her inability to do as she pleased and spend time with the horses.

Ruby's heart sank for a minute, but she instantly thought of a way to make things better again.

The mare was still behind them, swishing her tail. Ruby reached out to her, letting the horse sniff her before placing a hand on her nose and scratching lightly.

"There's a good girl," she cooed. "Look how pretty you are! What a beautiful coat you have!"

Weiss looked up, watching as Ruby reached out and pet the horse so easily, with minimal effort and without a care in the world. The mare never tried to nip at her as it did Weiss, and it just made her feel even more unworthy of being here.

She took a step back, making a move to head back towards the mansion.

But before she could, a hand on her shoulder stopped her.

Ruby smiled at her, giving a silent invitation with her eyes that Weiss could only accept.

She followed Ruby a few steps back to the fence, and the stablehand ushered her close. The brunette reached out to pet the mare's head again, murmuring soft words to relax her. Then, she took one of Weiss' hands with her free one, and replaced her hand on the mare's head with the older girl's.

There was a small gasp on Weiss' part, and she very nearly recoiled for one reason or another, half-convinced that the horse would lash out.

But the mare was still and calm, nudging her palm a bit and encouraging Weiss to pet her.

Ruby gave Weiss a gentle pat on the back to encourage her as well, and she too moved up to the fence again to pet the horse's head.

Weiss followed her lead, experimentally rubbing up between the mare's ears, then scratching a bit. She couldn't remember the last time she'd actually pet one of the horses, but now it was all coming back to Weiss.

She ran her nails lightly through the thick, course fur, over the ears, on the side of the face, then rubbed atop the nose.

Ruby continued to coo at the horse, complimenting her mane and fur as if she could understand the words. Her eyes caught sight of Weiss, a wide smile on her lips now as she continued petting the horse.

Ruby had seen Weiss around many times before in the past two years, usually standing by the fences watching lessons, but never participating. She could remember seeing the amazement in her eyes while watching the animals train, the wonder and the admiration.

But never before could she recall ever seeing her smile, not like this.

This was happiness for Weiss, being close to the animals she loved so dearly.

Ruby wanted to let her have that for as long as possible.

Weiss soon even started to coo at the horse as well, then used both hands to pet and scratch her. Ruby was enjoying herself simply because Weiss was doing the same.

Weiss was more than willing to stay here for the rest of the day. But a swift glance at her wristwatch told her that lunch was almost over, and she'd have to return to her lessons soon.

With a small gasp, Weiss stepped back, her hands reluctantly leaving the mare behind.

"I've got to go now," she informed Ruby, the smile nowhere to be seen. "I-I'll see you around."

"Wait!" Ruby called out after her. "Will you be here again for lunch tomorrow?"

"Yes."

"Then... would it be okay if I joined you again?"

Weiss paused for a minute, then nodded.

"I don't see why not..."

"Great!" Ruby chirped. "Then... I'll see you tomorrow?"

Again, Weiss was silent for a beat, then nodded.

"Right. See you tomorrow."

And with that, she hurried off back to the mansion.

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For some reason, she didn't exactly expect Ruby to go through with her promise of meeting up again.

Weiss assumed Ruby would forget, or be too busy with her stablehand work to be able to meet with her.

But Weiss had only been watching the riding lessons for a few minutes the following day before she heard footsteps and felt a tap on her shoulder. She turned around to find Ruby's familiar grin staring back at her.

Together, they observed the horses once more, Ruby munching on a granola bar as Weiss picked at another sandwich. She listened to Ruby's little comments about each of the horses as they went around the course.

The quarter horse from yesterday – Oatmeal – managed to clear the jumps now with his rider, but there were still a few others who were having trouble. Ruby groaned aloud as a female jockey on a grey stallion missed a jump for the fourth time.

"No, no, nooo! She's steering all wrong! Ugh..."

Weiss, who had been watching a different part of the corral at the time, directed her attention to the target of Ruby's frustration. She was hardly surprised when she recognized the jockey.

"That's Winter," she murmured. "My sister."

"What?!" Ruby immediately straightened up, almost falling over in her shock. "Y-Your sister? I didn't mean to sound so harsh! I mean, it is kind of a tricky jump, I guess..."

"There's no need to get defensive," Weiss told her. "Winter's never really been too thrilled about riding, but Father makes her take lessons."

Ruby raised an eyebrow as she got her balance back.

"Wait, so you wanna ride and she doesn't... but you're not riding and she is? How does that make any sense?"

"It doesn't have to make sense," Weiss grunted. "It's just the way things are. Family business."

Ruby crossed her arms over the top of the fence and leaned forward with a huff.

"That's dumb..."

Weiss folded her arms beside Ruby and leaned over the fence as well.

"I know what you're thinking," she said. "If this is how things are, then why doesn't Winter be the one to handle the business side of things and I be the one who rides and enjoys the horses?"

"Exactly!" Ruby exclaimed. "That'd make a lot more sense, wouldn't it?"

"I know it would. I've thought about it a lot over the years. And I've come to the conclusion that my sister and I have just spent so much time doing what our Father has told us to do that we can't possibly refute him now." She paused for a moment, lowering her voice. "That's why... tonight... I'm going to come out for a walk again. I'll find you, Ruby. I'll explain everything then."

Ruby still had a million questions to ask, but again she swallowed them down and forced herself to wait on asking them.

They stayed side by side and observed the remainder of the lesson until Weiss needed to leave again.

Ruby wished her good luck at her lessons, then returned to the stables to continue her work.

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With the pain in her back subsided now, Weiss slipped out that evening at around midnight.

She didn't bother with a jacket this time and simply treaded down to the stables in her casual pants and shirt, her boots making small padding sounds in the dirt. The guards greeted her again at their standpoints, and Weiss waved back before hurrying onward.

Once she'd reached the stables, she sought out Ruby's sleeping spot. Weiss peered inside to find the girl sitting on a bail of hay, chewing on a straw of the stuff. But the instant she saw Weiss, Ruby spit it out and jumped to her feet.

"Hiya, Weiss!"

"Shhh!" she hissed. "Do you want the guards to hear us?"

"Oh, sorry!"

She scurried over to Weiss and followed her out into the hall of sleeping horses.

Weiss maintained a slow pace, and Ruby kept it beside her. She wanted to speak, but she remembered that Weiss was going to tell her some things, so Ruby kept silent and waited for her to go first.

Weiss didn't say anything until they reached their destination – Zuri's stable. It was then Weiss turned to Ruby, meeting her eyes directly, blue pools determined and steadfast.

"Ruby..." she began. "I don't... I don't want to be on the business end of things. I want to work with the horses. I want to understand them better. But I'll have to prove it to my father that I can do those things. I'll have to prove to him that I'm good with the horses, that I'm better for working with them than my sister is."

Her eyes flashed to the white stallion in his pen, then back to Ruby.

"And I want you to help me, Ruby. Just... maybe one night a week or so. I want to come in here and learn the basics from you. Teach me how to feed them, how to pet them, how to groom them and muck their stalls. Just teach me how to be around them."

She swallowed, clearly nervous about sneaking around under the cover of night, but Ruby could tell she really wanted this with all her heart. Weiss reached down to grasp both of her hands and squeezed them.

"Please, Ruby. I need your help."

In truth, Weiss never even had to ask. Ruby had seen that sparkle in her eyes enough times to know Weiss truly loved these horses and longed to bond with them. If Weiss hadn't asked her for help, Ruby would have offered before long.

Weiss didn't seem like the kind of person to ask others for assistance, as it meant she'd be indebted to them in some way. But it was a risk she was more than willing to take for the sake of getting close to these majestic animals.

Weiss Schnee was desperate enough to beg a lowly stablehand like Ruby for help.

It was clear that she really wanted – no – needed this. She didn't want to spend the rest of her life behind a desk filing documents about the horses. She wanted to be outside training them, grooming them, riding them.

Ruby realized she had yet to respond to Weiss' plea. The white-haired girl's grip on her hands had slackened a bit, her eyes dropping to the floor as her shoulders heaved a hopeless sigh.

But before she could step away, Ruby grabbed her hands firmly, imploring her to look up again.

"Weiss!"

Ruby's tone was excited and eager, and Weiss felt her heart lift just a little. She looked up to meet those silver eyes like stardust. Ruby was smiling wider than ever before.

"I know you love these horses, Weiss. It's clearer than water that you do! You always get misty-eyed when you're watching them and it's obvious that you care about them a lot! I really like that about you," she said. "Which is why I'm definitely going to help you."

Weiss could hardly believe her ears. Her jaw dropped a bit as she fumbled for words.

"You... really mean it?"

Ruby nodded.

"I mean it, Weiss! I'm gonna help you with these horses. I'll teach you all their names. I'll teach you how to groom them and clean their stalls. I'll teach you how to feed them and how to handle them. And most importantly..."

She held Weiss' gaze for a moment to ensure she had her full attention before Ruby finished her declaration.

"I'll teach you how to ride them!"

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A/N: It'll be risky on many levels, but they've agreed to work together!