A/N: Hey everyone, this is my first ever fanfiction, and I hope you like it. Main pairing : Cardin Winchester and Velvet Scarlatina. Sorry, but they seem so cute together, if Cardin would stop acting like a complete asshole. Anyways, here's the first chapter for this, and again, I hope you like it.

Enjoy~! ^_^

*Chapter 1*

Cardin lay in his bed. Dying. Alone. His indigo eyes gazed blankly at the decorated ceiling above him, decorated with the Winchester and CRDL crests. He hated that ceiling, among many other things: his ex-wife, his father, and his upbringing. Everything that turned him into the man he was now.

It was a rather humiliating way to die and not in any way dignified. To make the situation worse, he suffered alone, with no one for company. Not even the healers or servants would visit him now. He was too ill.

He had needed to pee for more than an hour and a half, but he was far too weak to even stand up to go to the bathroom, or even call for assistance. So he wet himself, and it wasn't the first time this happened in the final stages of his disease.

He wished for his son Jeremy. He had turned out much better than his father. Sure, he might have been a spoiled, pampered brat at times and even a bully occasionally, but he was not a racist. He had taken the place of Professor Oobleck at Beacon when he retired, and Jeremy married a Faunas girl. He had two children with her, Alex and John, neither of which Cardin had met.

A pair of tears rolled down his cheek as he remembered his short life, his mistakes, his regrets. He had so many, too many in fact. He wished his mother was still alive. She at least was caring, trying to let him be the boy and then man he truly wanted to be. She had died from a lone Beowolf just two months after Cardin married. His father called her weak for losing to such a pitiful Grimm.

He completely hated his father.

He was able to smell the urine now, the hot liquid still running down his leg. He turned his gaze to the clock on his bedside table, it read 6:15. At 6:30 precisely, a maid would give him another dose of medicine. Medicine that did nothing but postpone the inevitable.

When Cardin Winchester imagined himself dying, the first thing that came to his mind was dying gloriously in battle with Grimm, fighting for what he believed in. He never imagined it would be from an infected Ursa Major bite.

How completely embarrassing.

Another silent tear ran down his cheek as he closed his indigo eyes. He knew fate was calling for him, that he did not have much time left. Cardin doubted he would make it past nightfall. When he did pass, his regrets would be put behind him. He could see his mother, the baby girl Kimberly aborted, and even Russell: his best friend who died in battle several years earlier.

At six thirty exactly, a servant, Stephanie, had arrived to give Cardin a dose of medicine. After several attempts to stir him, she felt for a pulse. There was none. Cardin Winchester had passed.

XXX

There was bright light. It was so bright it could break any darkness and then a form appeared, a woman. "Cardin," the woman said, "It's time to get up sleepyhead."

A small gasp came from Cardin's lips as his mother appeared. "Come on," she said, tapping her sword's handle, "You wouldn't want to miss the airship to Beacon now." In a heartbeat, several servants entered the room and cleaned his room.

He didn't fully comprehend her words, simply because she was there. His loving, amazing mother, who looked nothing like the woman she was when she died. Her long brown hair flowed magnificently down her back, her green eyes showing prideful elegance. She was wearing an auburn skirt with matching top. Cardin thought she had to be at least a good ten years younger than when her untimely demise came, stealing her.

"Mother, wh… what happened?"

She turned to her son, who was looking confused. Did he have a strange dream, or was he ill?

"What do you mean?" She sat down on the foot of his bed and instinctively placed her delicate hand on his forehead. He had no signs of a fever. She then checked his glands. They too were normal.

"I…" he trailed off, not sure as how to word the way he was feeling. Cardin's eyes flickered to his ceiling. The Winchester crest was there, the CRDL crest wasn't adorned until after he had been given a team at Beacon.

"Cardin, are you feeling okay? Do I need to summon a healer for you?"

Cardin's eyes turned back to his mother, her concern for her only son apparent. "No, I'm okay. I'm just… just confused a bit."

"Confused?"

Yes, confused. That was an easy way of putting it. His mother was dead. He was dying. Alone. He was completely, utterly alone. Perhaps he was delusional. That was a symptom of his disease in the end stages. He had to admit, if this was a delusion, it was a rather nice one. He was with his mother and he was young, back at 17 apparently.

"I guess I'm not fully awake, that's all."

His mother gave a small chuckle and she rose off his bed, "Well, you better hurry up and do so then. Breakfast will be ready any minute and then we'll drive you to Vale airport."

As his mother left his room, Cardin slowly rose from his bed. He found himself able to walk, and he discovered no antagonizing pain in his bones as he walked step after step. Yep, he was definitely delusional.

He was familiar with his size at 17, and he was bigger than most people his age. Making his way to a spectacularly well-cleaned bathroom, he pulled off his pajamas, put on a fresh set of boxers, washed his face, and combed his burnt orange hair back, making a slight peak at the front. He then dressed himself casually in a pair of dark grey slacks, a black shirt, and black boots. His father would most likely say something about him being dressed like a punk or drug dealer, but he honestly didn't give a damn what his father thought. With any luck, he wouldn't be in this delusion anyway. He threw on a leather jacket and made his way downstairs for breakfast.

To his dismay and annoyance his father was there, sitting at the far end of the table, reading the latest report of an attack on a Dust shop. Ignoring him completely, he smiled and sat next to his mother, prepared to eat.

"May I remind you Cardin," his father spoke up, his grey eyes glowering over the paper to glare at his son, "that you will not have your mother to wake you at Beacon."

Cardin opened his mouth to give a rather snarky remark, not fearing any punishments or reprimands. It was his own delusion after all. However, his mother spared him the task and beat him to it.

"Really, Jason, there's no need for that. We all have our days when we sleep in every once in a while. He's up now and we'll be on our way as soon as he finishes eating."

"Not wearing that," he sneered, taking in his son's appearance with a angry eye.

"I'm perfectly comfortable," Cardin stated plainly, continuing to eat.

"I don't give a flying fuck how comfortable you are. After this, you will go upstairs and change into what the servants have laid out for you."

"No!" Cardin yelled, standing from his seat. He had never raised his voice to his father, not even as an adult.

"I beg your pardon?" Jason was shocked, as well as his mother. Cardin never disobeyed his father. Never. He had always followed out his orders to the letter.

"This is my late-ass stage, Grimm-disease induced delusion, and I will not have you be a part of it. I hate you! I hate everything you stand for, you good-for-nothing, inbred, lying, sick, twisted piece of shit!"

Oh that felt really good. So many years of that bottled up hostility now just exploded from his mouth. Though looking at his father's reddening face, he suddenly started to regret it quite a bit.

Without a word, Jason rose from his seat, made his way over to his son, clamped a hand on his shoulder, and marched him to his study.

Amelia had no idea what had gotten into Cardin. He was always so respectful towards his father. She couldn't remember the last time he had ever disobeyed him. She began to think something was wrong with her son. She could hear his angry shouts echo down the hall. Jason was not one to hold back when he disciplined. She had no doubt Cardin might be standing for most of the flight to Beacon.

By the time it was over, Cardin's face was red, flushed with anger. He wasn't crying; hell, he hadn't done that since he was 11. Adult mind or not, he could still feel pain.

Maybe this wasn't a delusion at all. Maybe he had died, and this was his hell. Maybe, living through another lifetime with his father's sick, twisted way of discipline was his punishment for a lifetime of evil. He now stood in a corner in his room, blocked off from the inside so he had to wait for his father to retrieve him. He had to admit, it was probably better than sitting at this rate. Jason has used the scabbard of his sword. Cardin's bum stung, and he felt disgusted by his father's demented, sadistic form of punishment. He was 17; old enough to drive, and his father still used spankings. How humiliating. He would be sore for awhile, and he figured there were welts laced on his bottom.

"Master Winchester."

He turned slightly to see Katherine, a servant in the manor, standing in the doorway. She was wringing her black hair in her right hand, a tell-tale sign she was nervous or worried.

"Are you okay sir?"

Cardin smiled and patted her on the shoulder, "I'll live. It was my own fault… for upsetting Father."

"I think what you did was very brave, Master Cardin. I mean, to stand up for what you believe in."

"Maybe, but I doubt I'll be doing it anytime soon," Cardin gave a snorted laugh and winced, grabbing on to the dresser for support. As he held on, something shiny caught his eye. "My ring," he all but whispered as he picked up the object.

It had been his grandfather's, and he had given it to him after he graduated from Sanctum the year before. It wasn't new, or fancy, or powered by Dust. It was a plain gold ring with a bird that had its wings outstretched. it had been given to him by his grandfather, who passed it on to him when he died. When he was young, brash, and foolish, he saw it was nothing more than a simple ring, a piece of rubbish. It wasn't until after Cardin's grandfather died that he realized why he had given it to him.

He realized that his grandfather wanted him to be a man he would be proud of. A man filled not with hate or prejudice, but understanding and care.

Putting the ring on his finger, he wore it with now pride.

"Would you like it if I helped you pack your rugsack for the trip?" Katherine asked.

"Oh yes Katherine, I'd be grateful. Thank you."

The young girl's face lit up in a grin. He had said thank you. Maybe he would be a kinder, better man than his hate filled father.

Fifteen minutes later, his father re-entered the room and instructed him to change. Jason warned him that next time he spoke to him like that, the next punishment would make Faunus abuses seem like child's play.

Cardin simply nodded in agreement. He supposed the best thing to do would be to wait until his body was combat ready and strong enough to defend itself, keeping his mouth shut until then. When he would be ready, his father wouldn't stand a chance.

He pulled on his armor over his shirt, the chest piece bearing his grandfather's crest. His father then deemed his outfit satisfactory. Katherine had packed a bottle of cream to help with his bottom, as well as a bottle of pain relievers for when he got on the airship.

Cardin kept his indigo gaze on floor as he descended the stairs. Amelia put an arm around him before whispering, "Are you alright?" Cardin nodded. "Good, now please refrain from such foolishness in the future, especially around your father."

"Of course mother."

A/N: Next up, Cardin makes an unlikely friend. This will have a CardinxVelvet pairing, but not until the later chapters. Please let me know what you think, if I should continue this and any suggestions you may have. Thanks~

RWBYxFluorite