Always By Your Side (Winter x Butler!Reader)

From Long Night till' Morning

(y/n) POV

"So that Winter chick, you love her don't you?" Imyo asked after having a few more drinks.

"Of course" I said, letting the words out, surprisingly easier than I had expected "I love her! And I don't think there's any changing of that!"

"Pft, light drinker..." she whispered quickly as I looked down at my now empty cup which she gladly refilled "Maybe I'll go talk to her, hehe must be quite a woman"

"If you harm her I swear-"

"Yeah-yeah, you'll make me feel a thousand years of pain I get it" she said as she brushed off my threat.

"Good" as the liquid swirled around in my cup, one thought immediately came to mind with what had just happened...

"How'd you know I was a faunus?"

"Hm? Oh that, well I wasn't sure but I had a bit of a feeling. I did invite the Schnees over hoping you'd come. I even requested strongly to bring in those little offsprings"

"So what made you suspicious?"

"Mission report: 12/16/1991" Something about those words made my skin crawl. The feeling of something dangerous had caught up to you.

"A child spy was sent towards the Schnee family" suddenly, it was all there, this woman had figured it out. Each word that came after made me feel colder and colder. To remember such a mission "Goal is to assassinate the young heiress and send a message. Result, loss of spy and mission failing. Sound familiar?"

I could only nod with what she said.

"To think that a child born and raised in the White Fang would become a butler for the Schnees. That's quite a story... a story I happen to hear"

"You're part of the White Fang"

"Oh no! Oh Oum no!" she drank down as she laughed to herself "As much as I am a faunus I would NOT want to be a part of the White Fang. I hate those guys, specially that Adam. I mean, I'm cool with what he's fighting for and all but... he just doesn't have that style y'know"

"Then..."

"I had one of my own tell me their secrets" she gulped down another drink before asking a question "So, mind telling me that story in a more... in depth perspective?"

I was silent for a few seconds, looking back at how it all went... finally I knew how to start this story...

"It was a simple mission, just be a kid and earn Winter's trust. Play with her, hang out with her... all this time I thought how honored I am to be the one to do it. That I'll be ridding this world of evil. But, the Schnees being how they are, would not trust faunus so to hide that... the White Fang cut off my tail..."

"Tsk, they always leave a bad taste in the mouth"

"The pain was too much for a child to bare now that I think about it; I couldn't even walk straight without my tail that time. But I endured, and when I met her... she was different than what I had imagined"

I recalled to how it all was...

"She didn't look down on me as they said they would, she helped me up whenever I fell. She didn't shun me away, she was the one who'd always approach me. Oh Oum what I might've done... she was just a child back then... WE were just children back then... So now that I saw how wrong the White Fang were and tried to convince them, they wouldn't even listen. I mean, why would they listen to a child?"

Now, I couldn't help but think what horrible things I almost did for them...

"I just ran away, acted like I was continuing the mission. I lied to both sides. I told the Schnees my parents got in an accident, luckily her mother was kind enough to let me stay in their mansion... got trained as a butler and here I am. As far as the White Fang was concerned, I was just some lost child who failed a mission. Probably didn't care if I was dead or not..."

"I see... so that's what happened" Imyo said, her eyes staring at me "The night is slowly going to a close so I'll talk plainly at you (y/n). I have one last task for you, if you want to prove to me how good the Schnees are"

"And that is?"

"Tell Winter the truth"

It was those words again, before they were all just thoughts and suggestions, all of which were dismissed by fear.

"I-I..."

"I want you to tell her the truth and let me see if she'll still accept you"

"I can't" I said, still fearing that I'll be separated from her, not knowing how she'll react if she found out the truth of how we met.

"If you don't I'll kill them" she said with indifference, as if killing them would just be an afterthought.

"Wha- you promised!" I said, pointing at her.

"I promised that I wouldn't harm them if you complied, right now you're not complying to my terms which is pretty doable" she grinned "You better do it, after all I get bored too easily, who knows what I might do to them. I always did wonder how it'd feel if all your blood suddenly turned to acid in an instant. Hehe, maybe your Winter would tell me-"

At that moment, rage exploded from within me once again as I held a single razor sharp card in between my fingers which was pointed towards Imyo. However, a single finger-nail was pointed right at my eye.

"Don't try it (y/n), you're still too slow on a draw..." she lightly poked at my cheek, each tap threatening to make an entrance to my bloodstream "Just comply. If you really do love her, you would never keep this secret... or do you not trust her enough?" she giggled impishly.

"Just sleep through it for now" Imyo said, as she blew out three of the four lit candles "It was quite a night! Hehe, you really put me in quite a mood" she laid down on her own bed while I stared at the flame dancing in darkness.

I can't remember how when I fell asleep, but I do know that all I could think of during that night was how and what was going to happen when I tell her. It got up to the point that I even dreamt of the numerous possible scenarios I could think of.

This lead me to hesitate during the morning when I woke up, wondering if I was still dreaming. It was the groaning of another voice which woke me up...

"Ugh... new day huh?" Imyo said as she sat up beside me, letting her skin be bare. I looked away quickly, only sparing short and small glances. She held her blanket up to cover her chest, it was through the side of my eye did I notice something on her skin...

'Red?'

I turned to look at it clearly and saw that Imyo had noticed me staring.

"Sorry" I said as I turned away.

"No problem, this isn't really going to change so..." she pointed at her back.

A large scar spread from her spine all through her back, marks of burns scattered all around as if her skin was a cite of explosive demolition.

"Can't lead a clan without earning some scars. Had to take the brunt of a full explosion at my back" she still kept her back on me, not covering her curvy figure.

"You never told me last night, what do you really want to do?"

"Hmph, that's simple! I'm going to unify Sanus and create my own kingdom! A kingdom for the outcasts, a safe haven. I'll unify these lands and make a world with no wars and no more fighting... just peace"

"And you'll do that by fighting?"

"Yes. Cause' I see no other way..."

It was only then didher eyes change from that of a predator, to that of a ruler...