P.O.V. Third

The young male known as King was currently walking down the halls of the palace. Xiantao had told him that all of his classes had been canceled for the day. He had been told that he had some important guests that would be visiting for the day, so he was supposed to entertain them while Xiantao was talking to their father. As King walked down the halls he saw Eclipse walking towards him.

"So they've already arrived, they're in the conference room waiting for you," Eclipse said as she looked at King. When she said this the male nodded hearing this and continued to walk down the halls with her. "There are three of them here, however from what I've seen you'll most likely only need to worry about one," Eclipse said as she looked down at the male in front of her. King nodded hearing this and continued to listen to what she was saying.

"There's the oldest a girl named Winter, the youngest a boy named Whitley, and the heiress of the company a girl named Weiss," Eclipse said as she looked at the male in front of him. King nodded hearing this and turned to look up at the female. "So which one am I playing with?" King asked as he looked at the female in front of him.

"Weiss," Eclipse answered as she looked at the male beside her. "the youngest wants to watch the meeting for some reason, and the oldest wants to explore our facility. I have a fairly good idea why, but it won't really matter, so all you need to do is keep Weiss entertained until it's time for them to leave," Eclipse said as she looked at the female in front of her. King nodded hearing this and continued to walk down the halls with Eclipse.

When they arrived King saw four figures standing in front of the room. Two older figures that looked to be around the same age as Xiantao and Rain, the first of which had short white hair and bright blue eyes, while the other had black hair and deep blue eyes that almost looked black. Then he saw two younger figures beside them, a female with long white hair and bright blue eyes who looked to be a bit younger than King, possibly around the age of five, and the other was a boy who was even younger who looked like his father.

"King this is General Ironwood, and Jacques Schnee they're the guests that Xian told you about," Eclipse said as she looked at the two in front of her. When she said this the male that King now knew was named Jacques smiled and gently pushed his daughter forward. "It's very nice to meet you, your majesty. This is my daughter Weiss Schnee," Jacques said as she looked at the male.

When he said this Weiss stepped forward and forced a smile as she grabbed the edges of her skirt and gave an elegant bow towards King. When she did King gave her a kind and bright and extend his hand towards the female. "I'm King, King Kattaerthwait Kresnik," King said introducing himself.

Weiss smiled hearing this and took his hand shaking it gently. "I'm Weiss, Weiss Vergiftet Schnee," Weiss said as she looked at the male in front of her. Eclipse smiled hearing this and looked at King.

"King, why don't you and Schnee go to your room," Eclipse offered as she looked at the male in front of her. King nodded hearing this and looked at the female in front of him.

"Come on, let's go," King said with a smile as he began to walk down the halls with her. "I have a bunch of toys, I'm not sure what type of things you like but I'm sure I'll have something for you," King said as the two continued down the halls. As they did Xiantao turned around the corner.

"Sorry to have kept you wait, I wanted to ensure that your daughter and the prince met each other before we began," Xiantao said as he looked at the male. When he said this the male nodded and they walked into the room together with Eclipse and Rain standing guard by the door. As they did Eclipse turned to look at the male beside her.

"Are you sure you want to be here and not with King?" Eclipse asked as she looked at the male causing him to nod.

"Yeah, I want to hear what happens, and don't worry I gave King a button to press if anything goes wrong," Rain said as he looked at the female in front of him causing her to nod. Unknown to the two King and Weiss had just entered King's room. When they did Weiss began to look around his bed was similar to hers, the only major difference between the two was the layout. King then walked over to a large chest at the end of his bed and opened it.

When he did he pulled out a few different toys and showed them to Weiss. "See anything you like? I don't have a lot I know, but that's because Xian said I can't have some stuff until I'm older," King said as he looked at her. When he said this Weiss walked over to the male and looked inside the large chest that he had. She had to admit that she was rather impressed with what he had, it was more than her father was willing to let her have at least.

After glancing over them, Weiss shook her head and walked over to a large balcony. When she did she saw several different things. King had a clear view of not only the kingdom that he ruled over but just beneath them was a perfect view of the royal garden. If someone were to walk to the left they could see a wide and open clearing with a massive building that was in the center and if someone was to walk to the right they would see the training grounds for new guards.

Weiss wanted to try and enjoy herself while she was here but given what her father had told her she found the task rather difficult. As she looked over the balcony at the several different things she could see, Weiss let out a sigh and King walked up to her a bit concerned. "Is something wrong?" King asked as he looked at the female next to him. When he asked this Weiss looked to him and shook her head.

"No . . . well yes but," Weiss began as she looked at the male and King looked at her concerned. Weiss took a deep breath seeing his gaze and looked down. "My father told me that I was supposed to be really nice to you, and do things for you I wouldn't do for others, like kiss your cheek and let you hold my hand," Weiss said as she looked at the male in front of him.

King seemed a bit confused hearing this and looked at the female. "I don't see the big deal about holding someone's hand after all I hold Eclipse's and Rain's hand all time! . . . And Xian's when he was in a good mood," King said as he looked at the female in front of him.

"I don't really understand why he told you to kiss me on the cheek, after all, I was always told you're supposed to kiss someone on the hand. Oh no, I forgot! Can I see your hand real quick?" King asked as he looked at the female in front of him. When he asked this Weiss smiled slightly and offered her hand to the male. When she did King quickly kissed it and smiled. "There," King said as he looked at the female in front of him.

Weiss smiled and sighed as she once again looked at the view. "He wants me to act like that because he wants us to get married," Weiss said as she looked at the view a bit sadly. "I . . . I don't want to marry you," Weiss said as she looked at the view, however as soon as she realized what she said she turned to look at the male hoping she hadn't hurt his feelings. "Not that you're not nice, you're really nice! I just-" Weiss began as she tried to find the words to describe what she meant.

"Then we won't get married," King said as he looked at the female in front of him. Weiss seemed surprised to hear this and King looked at her. "Xian said that he would handle all the paperwork and details so that it didn't interfere with my lessons, but then he'd leave the call of whether I married someone or not up to me," King said as he looked at the female in front of him before he walked back into his room and began to search through his chest for some more toys.

"He also said some more stuff that I didn't understand after that but from what he told me a contracted marriage doesn't sound good. So if you don't want to get married that's fine, that doesn't mean we can't still play together while you're here," King said as he looked at the female in front of him. When he said this Weiss felt herself smile slightly but quickly hid it as she looked at the male in front of her.

She couldn't tell if he was being serious or if he was just saying that to make her feel better. She hoped it was the first rather than the latter so that she wouldn't be forced to marry someone she didn't love. Weiss then once again found herself staring out at the view from the balcony wondering how her father was doing. As she expected her father was still in the conference room talking to Xiantao about the benefits that they could bring to the royal family of Trigelph.

As he did Eclipse walked to the conference room with some food. "I asked the cooks if they could give some stuff earlier and got some gratin," Eclipse said with a smiled as she held up two containers. Rain smiled hearing this and reached for one of the containers.

"Thanks, I'm starving," Rain said as he looked at the female and began to happily eat.

"So how is it going?" Eclipse asked as she walked to the other side of the male beginning to eat as well. Rain chuckled slightly as he continued to listen to Jacques and Xiantao talk to each other. "What's so funny?" Eclipse asked as she looked at the male beside her.

"Xian's usually the one that cuts people off and continues. However with this guy, he can't get in a word edgewise," Rain said as he looked at the female in front of him. Eclipse smiled hearing this and chuckled slightly.

"I guess that is kind of funny," Eclipse said as she looked at the male.

"Indeed, he's been talking nonstop about the benefits that would come forward if his daughter and King were to "forge a legacy together," Rain said as he rolled his eyes.

"You mean he wants them to get married?" Eclipse asked as she looked at the male in front of her.

"A little bit more than getting married, he wants them to have a child of their own," Rain said as he looked at the female in front of him causing her expression to become one of shock. "The really funny thing is that if he'd stop talking for a minute and let Xian speak he'd realize that King is the one that makes the final call," Rain said as he looked at the female in front of him.

"Is that so?" Eclipse asked as she looked at the male in front of her.

"Yeah, Xian approached King on the topic a few weeks ago when he thought we weren't around. He, of course, presented the option of an arranged marriage to King. I can't say I'm surprised but he said he needed to offer him the option because of his status," Rain said as he looked at the female. Eclipse sighed hearing this and looked at the ceiling a bit irritated.

"Why does that not surprise me," Eclipse asked a bit irritated by the idea of Xian offering King the option of an arranged marriage. She understood the fact that he needed to because it was part of the rules that had been set in place, but did he really have to do it when he thought they weren't around? Xiantao was purposely trying to make King feel how he felt about the subject by not having them around when he offered it to King.

"Yeah, but Xian's giving King a lot of leniency with the marriage contracts. In fact, I was a bit surprised hearing what Xian had to say about the contracts. From what I remember Xian telling King about the marriage contract Xian actually seemed to be against the idea," Rain said as he looked at the female causing her to look at him.

"Really?" Eclipse asked more than a bit surprised hearing this.

"Yeah, he offered the option to King as you'd expect. However, he twisted his words to make it sound like an unpleasant option. I wasn't sure if he was doing intentionally or if Xian was trying to make it sound like a good option and accidentally did the opposite. So I asked to look at the marriage contracts he had made for King, just in case King did decide to accept someone's offer," Rain said as he looked at Eclipse.

"And?" Eclipse asked as she looked at the male in front of her.

"As I looked over the drafts I noticed that Xian intentionally left in loopholes for King to exploit if he ever wanted to leave the contract for some reason. I don't mean a small number either, I could understand one or two and just think it was an oversight, but he intentionally left in ten loopholes in every draft!" Rain said as he looked at the female in front of him.

"You really think he did that on purpose?" Eclipse asked still not being completely sure about the prospect of Xian being against marriage contracts. She knew how Xian was and as much as she wanted to believe that Xiantao was against the idea, she couldn't bring herself to believe it.

"Without a doubt! He even had a few extra papers set aside for "Royal guard view only" detailing several different plans he had come up with for King to use if he wanted. He had already thought of plans to get King out of his marriage contracts," Rain said as he looked at the female in front of him.

"Who knew Xian had a heart," Eclipse said with a slight chuckle as she looked at the ceiling. Rain chuckled hearing this and looked at the female beside him. "So has King accepted anyone's contract yet?" Eclipse asked as she looked at the male in front of her.

"No, but from what I've seen he does have a favorite," Rain said as he looked at the female next to him.

"Really?" Eclipse asked as she looked at the male in front of her.

"Yeah, you remember that girl that came and visited King a few days ago? Ember Empa," Rain said as he looked at Eclipse causing her to nod.

"Now that you mention it the two do seem to get along rather well," Eclipse said as she looked at the male in front of her. Rain smiled and nodded hearing this.

"They did but, as you know after that first visit Ember started visiting King every week, and last time she did King told Xian that if he had to marry someone he'd like for it to be her," Rain said as he looked at the female in front of him.

"Really?" Eclipse asked as she looked at the male in front of her.

"Yeah, admittedly Xian did contact them, however, he was very clear about not making arrangements and only informing them of what King had said," Rain said as he looked at the female Eclipse smiled hearing this and nodded as she looked at the male beside her. As she did Eclipse opened the small container of food she had gotten and began to eat. As she did she closed her eyes and began to think about what King and Weiss were doing.

Unknown to her the two were currently standing the same balcony as before. As they Weiss looked out at the view in front of them and for a moment King saw Weiss light up a bit. When he did he turned to where she was looking and saw that she was staring at a dog that someone outside of the palace was walking.

"Do you like animals?" King asked as he turned to look at the female. Weiss nodded hearing this and sighed.

"Yeah, but father says I'm not allowed to have one because they're too noisy and messy. I told him I would clean after it, and take care of it, and his office is on the other side of the house so it's not like it'd be bothering him. He doesn't even have to get me a dog, at this point, I'd be happy with something small and easy to take care of like a turtle or a goldfish," Weiss said as she looked at the male in front of her.

King nodded hearing this and felt a little bad hearing this. Was her father really not willing to let her have a pet? King thought that was an important part of being a child not only for enjoyment but to also teach someone responsibility. King then grabbed Weiss' hand and took her over to the left side of the balcony. "You see that building?" King asked as he pointed to the large building in the middle of an open field.

Weiss had noticed the building the first time she had walked onto the balcony but hadn't paid it any mind until now. Weiss nodded as she looked at the building. "That's the royal stables, we don't have a lot but we have a few animals in it if you'd like to see them," King offered as he looked at the female beside him. When he said this Weiss' eyes lit up and she smiled brightly for the first time since she had arrived.

Weiss nodded enthusiastically as she looked at the male and King smiled. "Great, then let's go," King said as he walked into his room shutting the balcony doors as he did and then walking out of his room once again shutting his door. The two then began to run down the halls now much more excited. Weiss smiled as she did and looked at the male in front of her. This small action while not much did mean a lot to her. Especially since her father would have never allowed her to have run back at their house.

It didn't take the two long to run out of the palace and make their way to the royal garden. As they did the guards that they passed gave a quick greeting to King as they continued to towards the building King smiled as he opened the door for Weiss letting her walk into the tables first. When they did Weiss noticed that the stables seemed to be set up vastly different from what she had seen before.

The building was massive and had several rooms with labels above the doors. "Ah," King said as came to a stop in front of one of the doors. "Since you said you liked dogs," King said as he opened the door and walked in. When he did Weiss followed and saw a large room with an unusual setup. Instead of the classic cage as she had been expecting she saw that the room had been completely modeled after a forest of some type.

There was dirt on the floor and there seemed to be a cave that had several beds in it. Several dogs of different breeds surrounded the two in a matter of seconds. They seemed to be fairly young and while they were no longer puppies they weren't exactly fully grown either. Weiss smiled and looked down at the dogs as they all began to prance around her happily. "They been trained to be extra friendly so don't be afraid to pet them," King said as he looked at the female.

When he did Weiss smiled and leaned down to pet one only for it to jump up and start licking her face. As it did Weiss let out a joy-filled laugh as she continued to play with the dogs. "So which one is yours?" Weiss asked as she looked at the male in front of her. King seemed a bit surprised hearing this before he smiled slightly.

"None of these are mine, they belong to the guards that work at the palace. I can visit them whenever I want, but none of them are actually mine," King said as he looked at the female in front of him. When he said this Weiss looked up at him.

"So do you have a pet?" Weiss asked as she looked at the male and he nodded.

"Yeah, I got her a year ago. I can show you if you want," King said as he looked at the female in front of him. Weiss nodded hearing this and the two began to walk back to the door being careful as to not let any of the dogs escape as they walked out of the room. When they did King shut the door behind them and began to once again walk down the halls until they reached a room at the very end.

When they did King opened the door for Weiss and she walked in behind him. As she did she Weiss saw a large open field with a large lake and a few trees. She was a bit surprised seeing how much bigger this enclosure was compared to the others, being nearly twenty times as large as others had been. Weiss could see a figure in the distance, however, couldn't quite make out what it was.

King then stuck two fingers in his mouth and whistled. When he did Weiss noticed the figure beginning to run towards them. As it did Weis quickly realized what was running towards them as it came to a stop in front of them. It was a horse with a large and muscular build, a pure white coat, and deep blue eyes. King smiled as he watched the horse lower it's head to him and nudged against him slightly forcing him back a small bit.

King smiled hearing this and wrapped his arms around the creature. "I know I missed you too, but Xian's really been bothering me about training lately," King said as he looked at the horse in front of him before he turned to look at Weiss. "This is my horse Nyx," King said as he looked at the horse in front of him. Weiss seemed a bit amazed by what she was seeing and looked at him.

"This is my new friend Weiss," King said as he turned back to Nyx trying to introduce the creature to Weiss. "Rain told me a bunch about her, I didn't really understand what he meant, but he said I would when I was older so I trust him. He's already taught me a few commands but not many," King said as he continued to pet the horses large head. Weiss smiled and reached forward to pet her.

"Can I ride her?" Weiss asked as she looked at the male.

"Uh . . ." King began as he looked at the female in front of him. He wasn't supposed to ride her when Rain wasn't around. Then again, he was supposed to keep her happy until it was time to leave right? "Sure," King said with a smile as he looked at her. Weiss smiled hearing this and began to jump with excitement.

"Here," King said as he moved beside Nyx and cuffed his hands. "I'll help you on," King said as he looked at the female. Weiss nodded and stepped on his hand and King noticeably struggled to lift her up. When she was on King smiled and looked down at his hands, when he did he noticed that they were now red and looked as if they were about to bruise. King sighed seeing this and closed his hands, he knew Rain and the others weren't going to be happy when they saw but at the moment he didn't care.

"Now, help me up," King said as he looked at the female in front of him. Weiss nodded hearing this and reached down to help the male up. When she did King smiled and took her hand as she began to help pull him up. When they were both on the creatures back King realized that he hadn't put Nyx's saddle on. King thought about getting off so that he could put the saddle on decided against it. Not only because it would take longer but because King didn't think he could lift it.

"Hold on," King said as he looked at Weiss. When he did Weiss nodded and began to lean against him wrapping her arms around the male. King then once again whistled and Nyx began to slowly walk towards the lake that the two saw. When they did King smiled as the creature came to a stop and King once again whistled. When he did the horse began to lay down letting the two off of it.

Weiss smiled as it did and King patted Nyx's head. "Good girl," King said with a smile as he looked at the creature, with Weiss following his example and patting the horses head. King then looked up at the tree that was beside the lake and began to climb it.

"What are you doing," Weiss asked as she looked up at the male.

"Getting Nyx something to eat," King said as he began to make his way to the end of one of the branches where an apple was growing. King picked the apple and began to hang upside down from the tree his legs hooked around the branch so he didn't fall. "Nyx, I got you something!" King said as he waved the apple back and forth. As he did the horse stood up and walked towards him standing on its rear legs to grab the apple before falling back down and eating it.

Weiss smiled seeing this and looked up at King. "I want to feed her!" Weiss said as she looked at the male now starting to act her age. King smiled hearing this and looked for another apple. When he found one he moved to where it was and picked it.

"Here," King said as he tossed the apple towards her and Weiss caught it. She smiled as she looked at the horse holding the apple out in front of her. Weiss laughed and giggled slightly as the horse took it from her it's lips tickling her hands as it did. King then dropped down from the tree falling over as is feet hit the ground. However, he quickly got up and dusted himself off as he looked at the female in front of him.

Weiss smiled as she looked at the male in front of her, however, her facial expression quickly changed as she looked at King. "What time is it?" Weiss asked as she looked at the male in front of her.

"I don't know," King said as he reached into his pocket and pulled out a large pocket watch with the royal crest on it. "It's almost seven," King said as he closed the watch still not fully understanding how to read time.

"Oh, I need to go. Father said he wanted me ready to leave by seven, he said he should be finished by then," Weiss explained as she looked at the female in front of her. King nodded hearing this and the two began to run towards the door.

"Bye, Nyx! I promise to visit again when I get the chance!" King said as the two walked out of the room with King shutting the door behind them. As they did Weiss and King both ran towards the palace with Weiss letting King lead as they did, not knowing the layout of the palace. When they did King smiled as he came to a stop at the hall that led to the conference room. "I had a lot of fun playing with you. Feel free to come back any time," King said as he looked at the female.

When he said this Weiss smiled and nodded. "Yeah, me too. I had a lot of fun," Weiss said as the two began to walk down the halls. When they did the door opened and the four figures that had been in the room walked out together.

"Ah, there you are Weiss," Jacques said pretending to be slightly surprised by his daughter's presence. "I'm glad you're here, did you have fun?" Jacques asked as he looked down at the female in front of him. Weiss nodded with a smile hearing this and Jacques smiled in return.

"Well I'm glad to hear it," Jacques said with a smile as he turned to look at Xiantao.

"So then, mister Zaffre do we have a deal?" Jacques asked as he extended his hand towards Xiantao with a smile. When he did Xiantao put both of his hands behind his back.

"I don't know, as tempting as your offer sounded, I am not the one to make the final decision," Xiantao said as he turned to look at King, being sure to stand up straight as he did. "My prince, these gentlemen came here today to discuss a marriage contract. The person in question that you would be marrying is their daughter Weiss Schnee. We have discussed some details about what opportunities this marriage could bring to both of our families. So is marrying Weiss Schnee something you would be interested in?" Xiantao asked as he looked down at the male in front of him.

"No," King said quickly remembering what Weiss had said earlier that day causing her to smile slightly. "She's really nice and really pretty but I don't think I want to marry her," King said as he looked at Xiantao.

"Very well," Xiantao said as he looked at the child in front of him.

"You're going to leave such an important decision in hands of a child," Jacques asked as he looked at the male in front of him.

"Indeed, the decision of marriage contracts have stayed within the royal family for generations. Since King is the last know Kresnik it is only right that this decision is his and his alone. If either of his parents were alive then the choice would fall to them, however, it seemed as if we aren't lucky enough to have that privilege," Xiantao said as he looked at the figures in front of him. Jacques seemed a bit irritated hearing this but sighed nonetheless and turned to his children.

"Come with me, children. We're going home," Jacques said as he looked at the three. When he did the three nodded in unison. The three began to walk down the halls and Ironwood placed his hand on Jacques' shoulder and leaned in close to whisper in his ear.

"Don't worry, I'll be with you shortly but for now I'm going to stay a bit longer. If I can't convince him to take her as a bride I may be able to at least get him to reconsider," Ironwood said causing Jacques to nod with a smile. The two then began to walk in separate directions and Ironwood walked alongside King.

"Your majesty, I ask that you reconsider. I can understand wanting to marry out of love more than duty, however, you also have a duty to your people. This marriage could make establish a steady supply of both dust, and atlesian military to your kingdom," Ironwood said as he looked at the male.

"I know, but I have my reasons for rejecting it besides that," King said as he continued down the hall. Ironwood seemed confused by this and shook his head trying to clear it of any thoughts, as he continued to follow the male.

"You're majesty I-" Ironwood began as he looked at the child in front of him only to be cut off by King.

"I can't find it," King said as he looked at the male in front of him. Ironwood seemed a bit confused hearing this, however before he could say anything King continued. "I searched in the garden, at the stables, in the kitchen, the décor room, the royal library, my room, the guards' room-" King began as he looked at the male and Rain chuckled slightly and he nudged Eclipse.

"I taught him this one," Rain said with a proud smirk as he looked at King.

"In the west wing, east wing, in the map room, I even look through my texts. But I just can't find where I asked for your opinion," King said as he turned away from the male and began to walk away. Ironwood seemed less than happy about the idea of being ignored by a child and gritted his teeth as he reached for the child. He, of course, had no intention to hurt the male, however, the subtle sign of irritation was more than enough for the three that surrounded him to be put on edge.

Before Ironwood could reach the male he found his hand being stopped by several wires that wrapped around him restricting all movement below his elbow with several long blades attached to the end. Rain had also taken action with two blades pressed against the male one at his throat and one pressing against his side. It seemed as if even

Xiantao had also decided to take some form of action the long trench coat he always wore turning into a rough and strong and flexible metal and wrapping around the male with several blades positioned around him in a threatening manner Xiantao even going as far as to press a rather large pistol to the back of the male's head.

"I suggest you leave," Xiantao said in a threatening tone as he looked at the male in front of him. When he said this King turned to look behind him, it wasn't often that Xiantao sounded like that. However by the time he had turned the others had already removed their weapons from sight and had taken more idle stances as to not alarm King.

"Is something wrong?" King asked as he looked at the four.

"No, nothing at all," Ironwood said as he adjusted his suit. "It seems like there is nothing I can do to change your mind, so I'll be on my way," Ironwood said as he began to walk away. When he did King smiled and began to way towards the male.

"Okay, feel free to visit again! I hope me and Weiss can still be friends!" King called out as he watched the male disappear from sight not receiving a response. When he did King let out a sigh and began to walk down the halls.

"You're in luck master, it seems like we have enough time for your fencing lesson after all!" Xiantao said as he looked at the male in front of him causing King to let out a slightly annoyed groan.

A/N: Alright everyone so I hope you all enjoyed this chapter, and for those of you that are curious I am currently accepting OC's for this story, so if that's something you're interested in then please PM me. Now I hope you're all ready because the next vote of the series is about to begin. 

What happens in the next chapter?

1. King throws a festival
2. King studies in the Trigelph library
3. King goes to a concert
4. King gets sick
5. King visits hunters haven
6. King is visited by Ember
7. King trains some more
8. King takes a literature class
9. Another kingdom visits Trigelph
10. King attends an art class
11. King goes to a fortune teller
12. King designs his weapon
13. King takes a cooking class
14. King holds a tournament
15. Other (suggest what you want)