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Tuesday morning arrived fast. The alarm clock beeped loudly on the small table.
Elias turned it off. He got up from the sofa. He went to the small kitchen.
He cooked eggs and toast. Dee walked out of the bedroom. Neo walked right behind her.
Neo wore her new school uniform. It was a simple gray skirt and a white shirt.
She looked down at her shoes. She looked very nervous.
"You look great,"
Dee told her.
Neo gave a weak smile. They sat down at the table. They ate breakfast.
No one talked much. They were all thinking about the long day ahead.
"Remember,"
Elias told Neo.
"We will pick you up right after the test is over."
Neo nodded. She signed her hands in the air.
"Be careful,"
The glass words appeared.
"We will,"
Dee promised.
They finished eating. They put on their warm coats. They walked out of the apartment.
The streets of Mantle were freezing. They walked to the main elevator. They rode it up to Atlas.
They walked to the primary school. Many children were walking inside the gate. Neo stopped at the fence.
She grabbed Elias's hand. She squeezed it tight. Elias knelt down.
He looked into her pink and brown eyes.
"You are brave,"
Elias said.
"Go make some friends."
Neo took a deep breath. She let go of his hand. She walked through the gate. She didn't look back.
"She will be fine,"
Dee said.
"I hope so,"
Elias said.
They walked away from the school. They headed toward the military airship docks. The sun was fully up now.
Atlas looked bright and clean in the morning light.
"We have an hour before the ship leaves,"
Elias said.
"Good,"
Dee said.
"We can relax for a minute."
They walked in silence for a few minutes. Elias thought about the strict man they met three days ago.
"Dee,"
Elias asked.
"Who is Major Ironwood?"
Dee looked at him.
"He is the man running our test,"
Dee answered.
"I know that,"
Elias said.
"But you looked at him differently. You know him."
Dee smiled a little.
"I know of him,"
Dee corrected.
"From the story."
Elias nodded. He knew Dee had knowledge of this world's future.
"Tell me,"
Elias said.
"Right now, he is just a Major,"
Dee explained.
"He is moving up in the ranks quickly. He is strict. He follows the rules."
"Does he stay a Major?"
"No,"
Dee shook her head.
"He will become a General. He will command the whole Atlesian military."
"That is a lot of power,"
Elias noted.
"He will also become the headmaster of Atlas Academy,"
Dee added. Elias looked surprised.
"He will control the army and the Huntsman school?"
Elias asked.
"Yes,"
Dee said.
"He will have two seats on the ruling council. He will be the most powerful man in the kingdom."
"Is he a good man?"
Elias asked. Dee thought for a moment.
"He tries to be,"
Dee said.
"He wants to protect people. But he is driven by fear."
"Fear of what?"
"Fear of losing,"
Dee said.
"Fear of the Grimm. Fear of the enemy. He thinks having the biggest gun solves every problem."
"That is a dangerous way to think,"
Elias said.
"It is,"
Dee agreed.
"In the future, he will lose parts of his body. He will replace them with metal. He becomes more machine than man. He forgets how to trust people."
"Will we have to fight him?"
"Maybe,"
Dee shrugged.
"But not today. Today, he is just our examiner."
They reached the airship docks. The cold wind was strong near the edge of the floating city.
A large gray airship sat on the landing pad. The back doors were open wide.
Many people stood near the ship. Elias looked at the other examinees.
There were about fifty people in the crowd. They looked rough. They wore dirty armor. They carried old, scratched weapons.
They were local mercenaries and street fighters.
"They look angry,"
Elias said.
"They are nervous,"
Dee said.
"This test is hard. Many of them will fail."
They walked to the edge of the crowd. They stood and waited. Suddenly, a shiny silver car drove up to the docks.
It stopped near the airship. The doors opened. Four people stepped out.
They didn't look like mercenaries. They wore clean, matching uniforms. They looked very young.
They were clearly students from an official academy. Three of the students looked bored.
But the leader looked very serious. It was a young girl. She looked about seventeen years old.
She had snow-white hair tied in a perfect bun. She wore a pristine white coat.
She carried a thin, elegant sword at her hip.
"Stand up straight,"
The girl barked at her team.
Her teammates sighed and stood taller.
"We are representing Atlas Academy,"
The girl said loudly.
"We won't show weakness. We will secure the objective first."
She marched toward the airship. She looked straight ahead. She tried very hard to look intimidating.
But she was just a teenager trying to act like an adult. Elias watched her.
"Who is that?"
Elias asked.
"That is Winter Schnee,"
Dee grinned.
"She is very loud,"
Elias observed.
"She is trying to be reliable,"
Dee chuckled.
"She is trying to act like a strict military officer. But she is just a kid."
"She looks cute,"
Elias said honestly.
"Like a small bird."
Dee laughed out loud.
"Don't let her hear you say that,"
Dee warned.
"She will try to stab you."
Elias looked at Winter's team again.
"Why is an academy team here?"
Elias asked.
"This is the independent exam. It is for people without a school."
"Academy teams can join the independent exam,"
Dee explained.
"They do it for extra credit. It gives them bonus points for their classes."
"So she is an overachiever,"
Elias said.
"She has to be,"
Dee said.
Her smile faded a bit.
"Why?"
Elias asked. He sensed a sad story. Dee crossed her arms against the cold wind.
"Because of her family name,"
Dee said.
"Schnee. Have you seen that name in Mantle?"
"Yes,"
Elias said.
"It is on all the Dust containers. The Schnee Dust Company."
"Exactly,"
Dee said.
"They own the mines. They supply the whole world with Dust. They are the richest family in Atlas."
"So she is a rich princess,"
Elias said.
"Why is she taking a dangerous test in the snow?"
"Because of her father,"
Dee said. Her voice dropped lower.
"Jacques Schnee."
"Is he a good man?"
"He is a horrible human being,"
Dee said bluntly. Elias looked at Dee. He waited for her to explain.
"He didn't build the company,"
Dee said.
"He married into it. Then he took it over. He only cares about profit. He works the miners in Mantle to death. He pays them almost nothing."
"That explains why Mantle is so poor,"
Elias said.
"Yes,"
Dee said.
"But he is worse to his family."
Elias looked back at Winter. She was yelling at a teammate for having a wrinkled shirt.
"How is he worse?"
Elias asked.
"He treats his children like property,"
Dee explained.
"He uses them. He controls them. He wants them to be perfect little statues. If they disobey, he punishes them."
"He hits them?"
Elias asked. His voice grew cold.
"Sometimes,"
Dee said.
"But mostly, he breaks their minds. He isolates them. He makes them think nobody else will ever love them."
Elias frowned. He doesn't like that at all.
"He has three kids,"
Dee continued.
"Winter is the oldest. She is supposed to inherit the company. Jacques wants to mold her into a perfect copy of himself."
"But she is here,"
Elias pointed out.
"She is training to be a Huntress."
"Because she ran away,"
Dee smiled slightly.
"Well, she didn't run. She joined the military. It is the only way out. Jacques cannot control the future General Ironwood. So, Ironwood's military is the only safe place for her."
"Ah,"
Elias understood now.
"That is why she acts so strict."
"Yes,"
Dee said.
"She wants Ironwood to respect her. She wants to prove she doesn't need her father's money. She wants to stand on her own two feet."
"She is putting too much pressure on herself,"
Elias noted.
"She is just a teenager. She should be having fun."
"She doesn't know how to have fun,"
Dee said sadly.
"She only knows how to work. She thinks she has to be perfect all the time."
Elias watched Winter again. His perspective shifted completely.
She didn't look like a bossy princess anymore. She looked like a scared girl trying to build a wall around herself.
"I feel bad for her,"
Elias said.
"Me too,"
Dee agreed.
"In the normal story, her little sister goes through the exact same thing."
"We are here before the normal story,"
Elias remembered.
"Right,"
Dee said.
"Winter's sister is named Weiss. Right now, Weiss is just a little kid trapped in that huge mansion with Jacques."
Elias crossed his arms.
"I don't like this Jacques,"
Elias said.
"Nobody does,"
Dee said.
Suddenly, Winter turned around. She noticed Elias and Dee looking at her. Her face turned slightly red.
She frowned deeply. She let go of her sword and marched straight toward them.
Her boots clicked loudly on the metal dock.
"Can I help you?"
Winter demanded.
Her voice was very sharp. Elias looked down at her. She was much shorter than him.
"No,"
Elias said simply.
"We are just waiting for the ship."
"You were staring,"
Winter said. She put her hands on her hips.
"Are you intimidated by the presence of an official academy team?"
Dee chuckled. She couldn't help it. Winter's face got redder.
"Is something funny?"
Winter asked angrily.
"No,"
Dee lied playfully.
"You just look very professional. We are very impressed."
Winter narrowed her blue eyes. She didn't believe Dee at all.
"This is a serious examination,"
Winter lectured them.
"The Winter Forest is full of high-level Grimm. This is not a game for street thugs."
She looked at Dee's simple dress. She looked at Elias's plain coat.
"You don't even have proper armor,"
Winter scoffed.
"You should go home before you get hurt."
"Thank you for your concern,"
Elias said politely.
"But we will be fine."
"I am not concerned,"
Winter snapped.
"I just don't want to waste time saving civilians."
"We won't ask for help,"
Dee smiled.
Winter glared at them for a few more seconds. She couldn't figure them out.
They weren't scared of her. They weren't angry. They just looked amused.
"Just stay out of my team's way,"
Winter ordered.
She turned around and marched back to her team.
"She is definitely cute,"
Elias whispered.
"I told you,"
Dee whispered back.
A loud horn blew from the airship.
"Attention all examinees,"
A voice called out over a speaker.
"Boarding will now begin. Step inside the aircraft."
The crowd of mercenaries began to move forward. Elias and Dee followed them. Winter and her team boarded first.
They stood at the front of the ship. Elias and Dee found an empty spot near the back.
The heavy doors closed. The engines roared loudly. The ship lifted off the dock.
It flew away from the city of Atlas. It headed toward the snowy mountains.
"Are you ready for this?"
Dee asked.
"Yes,"
Elias said.
"I am just worried about Neo."
"She will be fine,"
Dee promised.
"She is stronger than she looks."
"I know,"
Elias said.
He looked out the small window. The white forest was approaching fast.
"What do you think the objective is?"
Elias asked.
"Probably survival,"
Dee guessed.
"It doesn't matter. We will crush it."
"And we will get our licenses,"
Elias said.
"And then we adopt Neo officially,"
Dee smiled. The speaker crackled again. It was Major Ironwood's voice.
"Listen closely,"
Ironwood's voice filled the ship.
"You are approaching the Winter Forest. Your test begins the moment you leave this ship."
The mercenaries checked their weapons. Guns clicked. Swords were drawn.
"Your objective is simple,"
Ironwood continued.
"There is an old military outpost in the center of the forest. Inside the outpost are silver tokens. You must bring one token back to the extraction point."
"Simple enough,"
Dee said.
"There is a catch,"
Ironwood added.
"The forest is currently overrun with a massive pack of Beowolves. We estimate over two hundred Grimm are in the area."
Some of the mercenaries looked pale. Two hundred Grimm was a lot for fifty independent fighters.
"You may work together. You may work alone,"
Ironwood said.
"But you must survive. The drop doors will open in thirty seconds."
The red lights in the cabin turned on. Winter Schnee drew her thin sword.
Her teammates pulled out their guns.
"Stay in formation,"
Winter ordered her team.
"We move fast. We grab the token. We leave."
Elias looked at Dee.
"Do you want to use the hammer?"
Elias asked.
"Not yet,"
Dee cracked her knuckles.
"I want to warm up my fists first."
Elias smiled.
"Ten seconds,"
The automated voice said. Elias closed his eyes. He was ready. The floor beneath them suddenly opened.
The cold wind screamed into the cabin. Everyone fell out of the ship.
They dropped like stones into the freezing white forest below.
The test had officially started.