It would be another month before she left the house again.

Winter Schnee, back from a trip overseas, made it her mission to check on her younger siblings whenever she left Atlas. Wile work kept her busy, she took the time to have tea with Weiss--but only at the most exclusive tea garden in the city.

 While Hilde had stayed true to her word about Weiss' grounding. She permitted her to leave the grounds for this one trip. Weiss knew it was to get a photo of her in the press. As instructed her face was doused with creams and makeup to hide the scar. As she was escorted from hall to hall she kept quiet. But when she was moved into a private motor car, she put up a divider and scraped her face clean.

If she was to be paraded outside the house, she would let the people see her as she truly was.

Winter stood waiting at the entrance of the tea garden not making eye contact with the reporters and photographers just beyond the velvet rope dividers. Her men pushed them back as the car approached.

As she reached to open the door and receive Weiss, she blanched at the sight of her. "Weiss! You..."
Weiss' face was hard, her eyes cutting between her sister and the cameras. "It's nice to see you, Winter."

Winter's face mirrored hers, the same long white hair, pale complexion, and frost blue eyes.

Winter quickly ushered her sister inside, where the staff immediately moved them to a private room.

Crawling ivy and large rose bushes snaked up the walls surrounding them. The glass was tinted white with the use of a privacy slider, so no one could see within.

Taking her seat at the other side of the table, Winter crossed her arms.

"Care to explain what's going on here?"

"I did everything she asked." Weiss kept her gaze on the table. "The concert, the benefit, the charity ball. I even bested the Sentinel..." She looked up at Winter then. "But she insists on keeping me here."

"Weiss..." Winter's one facade slipped for a moment, and she shut her eyes. "Her demands can be...tiring. And best the Sentinel, I'm sure was not an easy feat." She looked at her sister again. "There are other ways out of that house. Enlistment alone would--"

"Winter." Weiss' voice was pleading. "I'm sure your work in the military has been very fulfilling, but I'm not ready to trade one confinement for another. I want to become a hunter on my own terms."

Winter was quiet.

"Even if it means I have to go about things alone."

"You'll never be alone Weiss," Winter replied. "I may not agree with you but I won't shut you out either. Perhaps with more training--"

There was a knock at the door.

"You may enter," Winter called.

"Here goes nothing..." Weiss murmured.

Winter looked back at her sister in confusion, but as the server entered the room, Weiss stood up.

"Sister! I've made up my mind!" She shouted as if they had been arguing just a moment before. "I'm going to enroll at Beacon Academy and that's final!"

Winter looked between the server and her sister. "Weiss..."

The server looked nervous."Should I come back?"

"No." Weiss crossed her arms. "We'll be having Set B, with Ceylon. And you can run and tell those reporters waiting in the bushes what I said. I'm sure they pay handsomely for the gossip you all always provide."'

Weiss knew it was no accident that rumors about her family always seemed to increase whenever they held tea there.

Winter looked surprised. "So that's your game."

By the time Winter and Weiss had finished their tea, every reporter in Atlas was stationed in the rose bushes outside.

As camera bulbs flashed and questions were shouted from all sides, Weiss waved her hand. 

"No questions. But I'll allow you to take down this statement. I will be heading to Beacon Academy for my training. For too long our relationship with our neighbors has been fraught with tension. But I want to follow the example of Beacon Academy, a place where future Hunters gather from across the globe. By working alongside these people, I hope to better our relations, create new allies, and lead us into a brighter future."

"You've got a storm ahead of you Weiss," Winter said, standing by her side. 

"Good." Weiss waved at the cameras. "I'll pack my umbrella."