MARN Volume 1 Chapter 1.5

Opera House. Atlas. 8 years prior to RWBY.

The auditorium was packed with men and women wearing formal attire. They all sat quietly as they watched and listened to the performance on the stage. A group of children between the ages of six and ten stood on risers wearing white gowns as they sang in unison toward the audience.

Alexander sat in the left balcony next a man with which he had shared many years of business as well as friendship. The man wore a black suit with a white shirt and black bowtie. The broadness of the man’s physique dwarfed Alexander greatly. He was lacking hair on his head save for the faded orange mutton chops on either side of his face. The President of the Corvinus Corporation stared intently with his blue eyes at the singing choir.

When the children had finished, the audience applauded their performance. Alexander did the same but stopped abruptly when he felt a malicious gaze on him. He could sense it coming from the balcony across from him. Alexander took a breath as he began to stand. “I need to get going Apollo,” he said to his friend. “He’s noticed me.”

Apollo sighed. “Why do you let him get you all the time?” he asked.

“The only reason I let it get to me is because he always has to confront me in public,” Alexander replied. “The best thing to do is avoid him before he instigates. I’m sorry.”

“The man’s an asshole,” Apollo said. “I understand. Are you still able to come for breakfast tomorrow?”

“I wouldn’t miss it,” Alexander said as he grabbed his black jacket and put it on. “Have a good night Apollo. Tell Athena she did well.”

Apollo nodded. “Have a good night Alex,” he said.

Alexander exited the booth and made his way down the stairs. When he reached the bottom he entered through a door and into a hallway. One side was a white wall while the other was a long pane of glass that showed the courtyard outside of the opera house. It was night and the moon in its shattered form shone its pale light into the hallway. The old Faunus continued to walk getting closer to the opera house foyer and from there the exit. “Alexander,” a voice said causing Alexander to stop. “Evening Jacques,” he replied as he turned around to face the owner of the voice. The man had gray-white hair and a large white mustache. He wore a white jacket and tie with a red handkerchief in his breast pocket. Underneath his jacket he wore a blue shirt and vest, and his lower half was clothed in white dress pants and polished white shoes.

“What are you doing here?” Jacques asked glaring at Alexander with cold blue eyes.

Jacques gaze amused Alexander. “I was invite by Apollo Corvinus to see his daughter sing,” he said. “I understand that your daughter is a part of the choir too. Weiss is it?”

“You know what I mean Masterson,” Jacques said. “I was informed by your office you weren’t to be arriving in Atlas until tomorrow morning yet you’re here now. Why?”

It was at this point that Alexander decided to humor Jacques. “If you must know Schnee I was meeting with General Ironwood,” he said. “My grandson Cain will start attending Atlas next week, and he had some questions for me.”

“I can only guess how much you had to donate in order to get him enrolled,” Jacques said with a smile.

“First of all, a Masterson does not donate to Huntsman Academies,” Alexander said. “Secondly, I’m not like you. I only donate to causes that truly need it. Not because I want something.”

Jacques’ smile turned to a frown. “About our contract renewal,” he began.

“Talk of our contract is business Schnee, and we discuss business tomorrow,” Alexander said as he turned to leave. “Until then have yourself a good night.”

“You can’t get away with it forever,” Jacques said causing Alexander to stop. “Constantly increasing the shipping rates on my Dust with each passing year. Your behavior is criminal Masterson.”

Alexander sighed. “The only one whose behavior is criminal is yours Schnee,” he said with his back still facing Jacques. “The way you treat your workers is barbaric. Their working conditions are unsafe, they are worked to the point of exhaustion, and you pay them so little for such a dangerous job. It just takes one crate of mishandled Dust from your company to cause trouble for my company, and unlike you I care about my employees. They’re as much my family as my own flesh and blood. As for the rates, you and I both know that your company will agree to pay whatever the price after that fiasco ten years ago. Nicholas would never have made such a foolish decision. But you’re not Nicholas Schnee are you?” Alexander turned to face Jacques and look at him with a grin. “In fact, you’re not a Schnee at all.”

Jacques watched as Alexander turned around and continued down the hallway toward the foyer. “You and your family are relics of the past Masterson,” he shouted down the hall angrily. “The Old Ways no longer have a place in Remnant.”