RWBY: Remnant's Blond Bard

Chapter 12

"I've decided that I'll be going to Atlas first!"

Saphron looked over from where she was bouncing Adrian on one knee and Terra looked up from her breakfast. Neither looked particularly proud of his having made a decision, but Adrian giggled happily and clapped his small hands together.

"Thank you, Adrian. I'm pleased someone is prepared to congratulate me."

"Jaune, you made a choice between two options. That's not a grand accomplishment."

"Okay. Granted. But I also performed live at an event."

"That is worth some praise," Terra admitted. "Not sure I'd be able to do that. Good job little bro-sis-in-law."

"Don't call me that." Jaune settled down next to Saphron and pulled some of her hair out Adrian's mouth. The baby made an aggravated sound and tried to reach for more. "The main reason I'm thinking Atlas is because I met this woman at the event—"

"Uh-oh..."

"A forty-year-old married woman."

"Uh-oh..." Saphron repeated, smiling teasingly.

"Don't you start. It was bad enough mom acting like every woman above the age of eighteen was a direct threat to my chastity back home—"

"Which Terra almost was."

"Babe, no!" cried Terra. "You totally made it look like a three—"

"—but I'm moving on from that!" Jaune interrupted, before they could remind him of that dark, dark moment. "And this is where it begins. She's offered to have me do some personal work for her and her husband at some dinner events. Live music, a little show, and she's said she can even arrange for lodging in the manor."

"They live in a manor. Fancy. What was her name?"

"Willow, I think." Jaune fished out a small and pretty business card. "Willow Schnee."

Terra choked on her breakfast.

"Schnee?" asked Saphron. "Sounds vaguely familiar but I'm not sure where from."

Terra choked a second time.

"Yeah, I figure it's some old name from history or something."

"You must be joking!" Terra cried, having finally managed to swallow her food. "This is some ribbing, right? You're both acting this way to get a rise out of me!"

Saphron and Jaune tilted their heads to the left in an identical fashion. He wasn't alike with his siblings in every way, not even many, but they all shared the same curious head tilt whenever they didn't know what was going on.

"Oh, my lord you're serious," said Terra, eyes widening. "How do neither of you know who the Schnee are!? They're the richest people on the planet!"

Saphron made an understanding sound. "Investment bankers!"

"No! Dust! They make dust! They make all the dust! Or most of it. Like, 95% of dust on Remnant comes from them. How do you not know them?"

"Ansel is a small place," Saphron answered. "How much dust do you think we really use out there? A little, sure, but most people still cut logs to warm their homes and cook in the kitchen. The village is right next to a forest."

"But I know you use some dust!"

"Cheap dust," Jaune said, shrugging. "Literally bargain bin dust rejected by the cities. I'm guessing that's not what the Schnee make."

Ansel was just too small. A business wasn't going to waste time marketing to them when 99% of dust in the world was consumed by the big cities. It'd be too much investment for too little gain. Besides, by the time dust reached Ansel it was no longer in neatly packaged crates stamped with company logos. It had all been taken out and stuffed into big barrels to make it easier to transport on bumpy roads through the wilderness.