17The air was quiet in the Cotta-Arc household.
In the living room, sat on the couch was Saphron, shifting uneasy smiles between her tenant Ruby Rose and their visitor Winter Schnee. Yes, the Winter Schnee of the Schnee Dust Company, the same Winter Schnee who held the rank of colonel in the Atlas military, the same specialist whose punitive operations were documented for their unorthodox but highly effective stratagems.
Also the same Winter Schnee who had sent Ruby and Jaune on that fateful mission, the results of which were plain as day in front of her.
While Saphron believed herself to have let go of any grudges towards the officer, she had to admit that Winter's physical presence in her own home was fueling her discomfort. Meaning it was not just the suffocating animosity radiating from Ruby that made the air so thick she could hardly breathe. At least Terra was at work and Adrian was at school lest this would be too much for her own psyche.
The elder Arc did not hate Winter per se. However, she personally did not consider her a friend. Yet.
Ruby on the other hand...
A teeny, tiny voice in the back of her mind was humming wildly: awkwaaaard.
At least the tea and biscuits were warming things up. Kind of. Sort of. Hopefully.
Ruby was unsmiling, her hands gripping the armrests of her wheelchair. This did not seem to bother Winter, though it was clear the elder Schnee was trying to repair burned bridges; her back was straight while she immaculately held the platter and teacup over her lap. Pleasantries aside, Winter did most of the talking.
Saphron had been expecting something like this yet was still surprised with what she had learned from her late brother's commanding officer. Even then, she was inwardly panicking. Such a topic was quite sensitive and if today was one of those moody days for the paraplegic reaper...
Ruby's hollow voice croaked for the first time since their guest sat down. "So...you're not changing anything?"
"There is nothing to change," Winter replied evenly.
Saphron fidgeted in the numbing silence until Ruby continued. "So that's it then. No cuts, no revisions, no strings attached. Everyone gets their fair share as stated and we all go on with our lives."
"To the letter."
"Is there anything else, ma'am?" Ruby pressed.
"With regards to Major Arc's last will and testament, nothing more."
Saphron dipped her head slightly to hide her biting her lip. Had Jaune's promotion not been posthumous, he would have been one of the youngest people to hold such a rank in the Atlas military, possibly climbing the same ladder that had Winter sitting on the rung as among the few people in recorded history to be promoted to colonel far below the average age of fifty.
"I see," hummed the reaper.
Winter took another sip, wallowing in the moment until she gazed up with steely eyes towards the reaper. Such a gaze made Saphron freeze. No wonder they called her the 'Ice Queen.' This military lady was downright terrifying with just that look!
Ruby, interestingly, held an eerily similar glower, enough that Saphron was now downright scared shitless of both women. Her palms were sweating over her teacup while she glanced back and forth between the two vixens. They both seemed to have forgotten her presence altogether.
Tick, tock. Tick, tock. The silence was agonizing.
Winter set down her platter and rested her hands on her lap. Her gaze was the same but her voice surprised Saphron.
"Ruby, never a day goes by that I regret issuing your orders."
The elder Arc turned to the mother of her brother's children. Ruby was frighteningly quiet. Stone-faced.
The officer continued. "I don't expect you to forgive me. I can understand why."
The reaper was gripping the armrests of her wheelchair. Hard.
Winter closed her eyes to breathe deep. When she opened them, the mien she displayed was replaced with a softer expression—less fitting of an uncompromising grizzled military officer, more worn by a passionately sympathetic civilian. "Ruby, I am very truly sorry."
Tick, tock. Tick, tock. Oh gods, the atmosphere was suffocating.
"Expressing further my regrets would not bring him back. Would not bring any of them back."
Saphron could feel her heartbeat racing faster than the seconds ticking by. Ruby was stone-faced. Too stone-faced. What could she, a civilian, do if things go south? If the worst comes, she herself would end up as collateral!
"I wish you all the best in motherhood and know that I will be here to support you throughout your endeavors."
Tick, tock. Tick, tock. Breathe, woman, breathe.
Saphron waited quietly before she realized Winter had said her peace.
After a long while, Ruby's voice broke through the painstaking silence. "Is that all, ma'am?"
The officer blinked. "Yes. That is all."
The reaper nodded slowly. "Okay."
Tick, tock. Tick, tock. Was it over? Is all well and good?
"I'm sorry about Weiss," Ruby said.
Saphron gulped when Winter stilled. Colonel Schnee stared back, her face blank. Not a trace of emotion laced her features—no sadness, no anger, no remorse. Or perhaps she was skillfully masking what she truly felt. Quirks of being an experienced Huntress and all...
The elder Arc nearly screamed when she heard the teacup click loudly with the platter. Good thing she kept still to see Winter set down her tea and take slow breaths with her eyes cast firmly on the carpet. Of course, Saphron was not the only person to lose a sibling.
Surprisingly, Ruby wheeled around the table towards their guest and took Winter's hands in hers.
"You're right, ma'am," the reaper said. "I haven't forgiven you. Not yet. But I'm trying..."
Saphron edged closer and caught a teardrop land on the top of Winter's palm.
"I appreciate your words. I wish you all the best in return, ma'am."
"Thank you, Ruby," Winter answered with a slight but noticeable quiver.
"Thank you, Winter," Ruby reciprocated with a small smile, "for being honest and straightforward with this."
It was after Winter had left the apartment that Saphron let her legs fail her. The elder Arc slid down to the floor with her mind in a mess. Ruby rolled over and poked at her with a breadstick.
Saphron looked up and was even more baffled to find her once very tense, very furious tenant tilting her head at her in confusion while she chewed on a handful of breadsticks.
"You okay?"
"How," the elder Arc breathed, "how did you not explode? You were stressing me out!"
The response was less than she expected. "Why would I? It's not good for the twins."
Saphron let her hands drop to her sides. "I thought you hated Winter."
"Not as much as I used to. Grudges harm the babies."
"You blamed her for...everything that happened."
"I still do," Ruby grunted. She wheeled back into the kitchen to retrieve more biscuits. "Jaune wouldn't want me to be angry forever. Weiss most definitely wouldn't like it if I was still pissed. Yang, too, and even Blake. Besides, bitterness is heavy negativity and I don't want to inconvenience the city's defense force with Grimm clamoring for my loathing."
Saphron chuckled. That made sense at least. "Of course."
"Jaune saved up a lot more than I thought he did," Ruby mused, rolling back into the foyer with a plate full of cookies. "I guess he was expecting something bigger than this."
"Really thinking ahead. Guess that explains why he was so stingy. Wouldn't even let Adrian go past the hundred lien mark whenever he took him out for a treat."
The reaper giggled. "Hundred lien is very generous. He averages like fifty at best."
The elder Arc raised her brow at her. "He doesn't spend more than fifty lien for you?"
A shrug. "On some days. He almost always stuck to the rations provided by the mess hall even though there were stalls with better-tasting food just around the corner. Even when we were on furlough, we would be spending like we were strapped."
Saphron sighed and pulled herself up and walked to the kitchen with Ruby wheeling alongside her. "Well, all that saving up is literally paying off. Won't have to worry about school fees and all that. The twins will sure feel their father's legacy."
Ruby, chortling, tapped her belly. "Yeah. They're going to inherit a lot."
ORIGINALLY DRAFTED: April 20, 2019
LAST EDITED: April 30, 2019
INITIALLY UPLOADED: April 30, 2019