The Princess and the Orphan
The Back-story P1
Budding Rose
The sounds of clanging metal were beginning to hurt young Ruby's ears. The loud, screech like sounds were coming from just outside the house. The little six year old crawled out of bed, landing on the ground with a soft thud. She ran out of her bedroom, her short, red tipped hair bouncing as she moved. Running through the halls, she passed by her older sister Yang, who had been at the table eating. Without swallowing, the blonde greeted her sister.
"Hey Ruby! Where you going?" the blonde asked, small bits of food flying from her mouth as she spoke.
Without answering her, Ruby continued running to the front door. When she reached the door, she looked up, realizing that she was too short to reach the knob. Looking around, she got an idea and ran over to a nearby chair. Grabbing one of the wooden legs with both hands, she pulled it over to the door. Yang watched her from the table, eyebrow raised. The wooden legs scraped across the floor rather loudly as Ruby moved it in front of the door. She carried her small body up the chair, finally reaching the door knob. As her small, right hand wrapped around the knob, it seemingly moved on its own. Before she knew it, the door swung open, pulling her off the chair. When she fell forward, she felt herself being caught and carried by a strong pair of arms.
"What are you doing Ruby? You'll get hurt that way."
Ruby looked up and saw that it was her mother carrying her, a sweet smile carried on her face. Her long, brunette hair stopped just before the small of her back, while her bangs overlapped her eyebrows. She was wearing a black gown with red ruffles. The black gown turned white just below her breasts and had long, white sleeves. Just over the gown, she wore a red cloak with small, metal crosses sewn into the fabric by her shoulders. Ruby blushed, clearly embarrassed about being caught falling.
"I was trying to go outside to see Dad...he's making that noise again! The one that makes my ears hurt!" The toddler whined.
Summer giggled, shifting Ruby so that she could carry her with one arm. Using her free arm, the older woman grabbed the chair and moved it back into its original spot, then sat Ruby down beside Yang at the table.
"Ruby, your father is just doing his work as a blacksmith. He doesn't get as much work being a knight as I do, so crafting weapons helps him pull in money to put food on the table."
Ruby crossed her arms and pouted, quietly muttering "He doesn't need to make so much noise..."
Summer lightly flicked Ruby on the forehead. "I heard that young lady." her mother laughed.
Ruby continued pouting, rubbing the newly formed red mark on her forehead. A scraping chair caught Ruby's attention, seeing Yang push her chair back and rush over to the sink with her dishes. The blonde haired girl quickly ran to the front door, yelling "I'm going outside to learn from dad!"
The door slammed shut, leaving only Ruby and her mother. Summer had approached a nearby closet, pulling open the wooden doors to reveal a small set of armor. The armor only consisted of silver gauntlets, chest plate, shoulder plates, and metal boots. The gauntlets, chest plate and shoulder plates all had a light blue lining around the edges. Seeing her mother putting on her armor got Ruby excited. She jumped up quickly, and ran over to her.
"Can I come to training with you!? I want to learn how to be a knight!" Ruby exclaimed with huge excitement.
The excitement soon turned to disappointment when she saw her mother shake her head. This was common with her mother, always saying she was too young to learn. The little girl would use Yang as a reason to learn, but her mother would shut her down still. Blacksmith work was different from training to fight other knights. Summer even admitted that she wasn't too fond of Yang learning how to craft weaponry at only the age of eight.
"Ruby. Even if you were old enough, I still couldn't bring you today. I'm going to be gone for a couple of days after training to do some scouting. After that, your father will probably need to join me."
Ruby looked at the floor, more worried than disappointed. She still hadn't gotten used to her mother leaving for such long periods of time. Even when she did, it was never without her father still being home to watch over them. Both parents leaving at the same time didn't sit well with Ruby, giving her a bad feeling. Summer noticed the expression on her daughters face and walked over to her, now fully dressed in her armor. Summer took off the cloak she wore daily and draped it over Ruby.
"Don't worry, Ruby. I'll be back when my job is done, and so won't your dad. Keep my cloak, and don't ruin it. I'll be coming back for it after all." Summer said, winking at the end.
Ruby still didn't seem convinced. The little girl merely put a hard grip around the red fabric, seemingly fighting back tears.
"What if...what if you don't? It can't be good if you and dad are leaving at the same time. They never do that!" Ruby cried.
Summer gently stroked her daughters hair, trying to soothe her. "Darling, everything will be fine. Even if something were to happen, I'll still be with you. Just remember the one thing I always say. Every white rose has a shadow, but every shadow has a break of light. Remember that one thing, and everything will be fine."
With that, Summer gently kissed ruby's forehead, smiling warmly at her as she pulled away. She stroked her hair one final time, before walking through the front door, closing it behind her. Ruby repeated the mantra in her head, but she still didn't feel any better.
She would just need to wait.
A few days had passed since Summer had left her daughter at home. The two girls were watched by Glynda Goodwitch, a close friend of hers and Ozpin's from Vacuo. Before leaving, Summer instructed Glynda that, by no means, was she to tell Ruby or Yang why they had to leave, to which the woman immediately agreed to. It would scar them greatly.
Vale was at war.
The neighboring kingdom of Ashwin was seeking to expand their territory. Summer was able to confirm the suspicion during her scouting mission. The woman was always fast and stealthy, able to get closer to the enemy than anyone else. It was something her trainer Ozpin had always commended.
The first battle was taking place in Forever Fall. A forest that used to belong to the creatures Grimm from years ago. The large trees and dense forests, coupled with several high cliff faces, made it easy to get the drop on the enemy. Summer was part of the second division, along with her husband Aidan. Should the first battle be a loss, they would be expected to try and drag the enemy from the forests and out into the open. While they seemed to be winning the first battle, something unexpected happened. A secondary division of knights from Ashwin had begun pouring in from behind them. With them, they brought a large catapult with dust infused ammunition. It was something Summer hadn't heard from her scouting mission. They somehow knew they were spied on.
Summer rose her arm high in the sky, shouting "Vale Knight Core second division! Divert your attention to our flank! We are under attack!"
Heeding her word, the knights turned around and diverted their attack strength on the enemy behind them. As they turned, Ashwin began launching off their catapult, the ammunition being coated with red dust. Enough dust to engulf boulders in flames and giving them explosive properties. The boulders flew through the air and collided with the ground with a moderate sized explosion. The impact left a large, blackened crater, while the explosion had killed three soldiers. Many knights began a mad dash for the catapult, only to be intercepted by the enemy knights.
Compared to Vale's armor, the Ashwin knights were decorated in white armor with red trimming. Some of the soldiers had slightly different armor. The only difference being a red wolf on the back, with red gash marks painted diagonally across it. Summer took a mental note of the logo painted on their backs, but continued fighting. She, along with her husband, stormed the catapult. Powerful as it was, Ashwin seemed hesitant on firing it with so many people around. Once an enemy had secluded himself, they would fire another shot, killing that soldier immediately.
"We have to take out that catapult! Keep close to the enemy! The won't fire at their own men!" Summer called out.
To her left, she could see a small group of three knights picking up speed and rushing straight for the catapult, feeling full of themselves. Among those three was her husband, Aidan.
"We can take them out! Keep moving! We can do this!" Aidan yelled out.
Summer shook her head, but switched her focus to several incoming knights. She pulled out her sword and readied her stance. As soon as the first opponent was upon her, within a blink of an eye, she struck. Lunging forward, she plunged the blade deep within the knights gut. Quickly pulling out the blade, she kicked the lifeless corps away into another knight, sending him to the ground. As another two attacked from both sides, Summer swung her blade to the left, blocking an incoming blade and immediately switching to her right to repeat the same process. Ducking under another strike, she leapt up in the air and used the knight behind her as leverage to flip over behind him. Bringing her blade down, she cut his arm off at the elbow, to which he cried out in pain and clutched the wound.
The other knight ran forward, grabbing his partners fallen blade and attacking her dual sword style. He expertly maneuvered the two blades, attacking Summer with attack after attack, each of them being blocked. The knight went for her legs, ducking down and going for the leg sweep. Summer fell backwards, but put her hand out and flipped back to her feet. When her feet hit the ground, she lunged forward with sword in hand. Metal collided with metal when her strike was blocked. Without wasting a second, Summer used her superior speed to swing the sword around and knocked one of the blades out of her opponents hands. Using the remaining blade, her opponent attempted to cut at her throat. When she dodged each attack, he resorted to kicking her in the chest, sending her skidding backwards as he dropped his blade.
Without losing any momentum, her opponent pounced upon her, punching her in the chest, bringing up his opposite arm and punching her just below the jaw. He spun around 360 degrees, hitting her in the side of the face with his elbow. She fell to the ground, only to be picked up off the ground by the bottom of her chest plate. The blood dripping from her nose and mouth made its way down her face and chin. The knight holding her by armor pulled his arm back, stopping just before punching her when he noticed her smiling.
"Why are you smiling at the hands of defeat?"
Summer just chuckled and gave him a sweet smile. It was almost sickeningly creepy to him, sending shivers up his spine. "I was just letting you have some fun, dear. It's no fun if I win too easily."
The knight tried to continue his attack, only to find his fist connecting with the palm of his opponents hand. Her smile twisted into a frown, complete with a menacing gaze. Summer yanked on his arm, pulling him forward as she cocked her arm back. When his face had come close enough, she delivered a bone crunching punch to his face, sending him hurdling to the ground. When his body collided with the dirt, it bounced off the ground, causing him to flip over and roll across the ground.
Summer took that as the opportunity to check on the rest of her division, regrouping with a higher ranked member of the core. His entire body was covered by armor, his head being covered by a large, silver colored helmet.
"How are the others doing?" Summer asked.
The knight looked around them, taking in the sight of hundreds of fallen men and women. The bloodied bodies sprawled across the ground, both allies and enemies alike. Summer didn't need a spoken answer to know that they were currently losing. The battle was seemingly going well not very long ago. How did it all go so wrong? Looking even further, Summer could see that her husband had succeeded in ridding them of the catapult, though most of the men accompanying him had been slain. Their lifeless corpses either leaned up against the catapult, or littering the ground just before the catapult, having failed to make it to the weapon. Summer felt a pang of worry hit her heart as she couldn't see her husband. Metal clanging against metal sounded through the air, though everyone around them was still fighting. She still held hope and ran full speed for the catapult, telling herself that Aidan would be there. The familiar sight of her husbands golden hair made her heart soar. Aidan was just fine.
Time seemed to stop, and Summer felt like she was being brought out of a dream, and was now entering a cold nightmare. What she believed she had seen was practically melting before her eyes. Her husband was anything but alright. One of Ashwin's highest ranking generals had a strong grip on the hilt of his blade. The metal protruding from the hilt had been plunged into the chest of her husband. The blood poured out from his chest cavity, soaking the blade in the crimson colored liquid. The amount of blood that stained, not only the blade but her husbands armor, only served as a confirmation that her husband had long since bled to death. She could see the cold, lifeless look in his eyes. Summer felt a rage boiling deep inside her. Not just because this man had killed her husband, but the fact that he cared so little for his opponent that he would stand there. He was taking in the satisfaction of the kill, refusing to let the opponent fall and die in peace. Aidan Xiao Long, her husband of many years, was nothing more than a source of amusement for him.
He would pay with his head.
Summer's silver orbs seemingly turned a bright red as she let her rage fuel her. Even when the knight dropped her husband to the ground. Even when he was soon joined by many of his own comrades. Even when she heard the cries of her comrades, telling her that she would die.
She still ran forward with no weapon but her own two hands.
Her speed had picked up, her body moving faster than she ever had before. The adrenaline and rage she was feeling fueled her body and guided her fists as she attacked her first target. She punched the first knight in the face, the knight jerking back from the contact. She immediately went for the hand wielding his weapon, grabbing at the wrist and twisting it so she could impale him with his own weapon. As he fell, she roughly yanked the sword from his hand and twirled around, giving the knight approaching her from behind a large, diagonal gash across his chest.
A group of five knights attempted to surround her and attacked at once, but Summer never once faltered. She beat the knight to her right in the face with the hilt of her sword and jumped up, kicking off of his chest. Once she was in the air, the dark haired knight aimed for the knight behind her once more, kicking off his shoulders. Her feet landed on the ground with a soft thud as another burst of speed kicked in. As she ran, she came across another group of four knights, all of which were taken care of in seconds by a series of simple slash attacks at chest level. She skid to a halt and threw the sword directly in front of her, impaling yet another knight in the left leg. He cried out in pain and knelt down, attempting to pull the sword from his leg. Before he knew it, Summer was in the air in front of him, kicking him in the face and sending him flying. His body skid across the ground, stopping just before the feet of the general who had killed Aidan.
Pulling the sword from his fallen comrade, the knight threw the sword like a boomerang toward the female knight. Quickly raising her sword, she blocked the incoming strike, only to find him directly in front of her. He gave her a straight punch to the face before grabbing her head and bringing his knee into it. The knight then gave her a round-house kick to the the side of the face. He pounded his right fist into the palm of his left hand, before bringing it into her forehead.
"Your not presenting much of a challenge, bastard. The cur before you offered much greater amusement and satisfaction."
Summer spit out blood, wiping the remainder from her bruised lips. The pain in her right, swollen eye was immense, and she felt as though she had several broken ribs. Her breathing was now labored, and she was beginning to feel dizzy. Summer knew very well what was about to happen. The final petal from this beautiful rose was about to fall, leaving behind nothing but a withered stem. In its final moments, even the most damaged rose had the sharpest thorns.
"Silence yourself, you pig filth. My husband was anything but a cur, but you. You are nothing but an ill-bred, ill-nurtured miscreant!"
With those final words, Summer summoned up a final burst of speed, dashing forward and attempting to punch the knight in the face. When he blocked her strike, she quickly moved to a jab at the chest, landing a direct hit that did little to her opponent. She landed an upper jab at his jaw before he countered with with another round-house kick. Expecting the move, she ducked under his leg and aimed a punch at his groin. Landing the direct hit caused him to recoil and clutch the area. Using this to her advantage, she unleashed a flurry of punches at his face. She kicked at his shins, and then at his head, knocking him onto his back. In a final act of desperation, the knight attempted to kick at her, to which she responded by grabbing his foot with both hands. Twisting his foot, Summer injured his ankle to which he cried out in pain. Dropping his foot, she slowly approached him, grabbing a nearby sword from the ground. He looked up at her with fear in his eyes for only a moment before a smirk adorned his face.
All around Summer was a large group of knights from Ashwin. The general believed that he had won. But to Summer, he was wrong. Raising the sword, the fear in the generals eyes returned. Seconds later, Summer harshly impaled him in the chest repeatedly, screaming with each strike. With her opponent now dead, her only regret was leaving her young rose and kindling flame behind. Tears streamed down her face as she knew her final moments were soon upon her. The knights surrounding her drew closer, and in no time at all, everything grew dark.
The final petal of the rose had fallen, and the beautiful hero of Vale, Summer Rose...
...had died.
Days had passed since the war with Ashwin. After Summer had taken down many of the army's strongest soldiers, the anger within the rest of Vale's knights fueled their fighting spirits. They relentlessly drove Ashwin back, winning the war and brought back news of Summer's fate. Nobody dared bring the news to Ruby and Yang, not even Ozpin. But eventually, the news would need to be revealed to them.
Out of respect for her noble sacrifice, Aldo believed that he should be the one to break the news to the young girls. The king knocked on the door to the Rose household, to which he was met by the sad face of Goodwitch. Normally a woman of cold indifference and professionalism, she too could not hold back the broken feeling inside. She stepped aside, understanding what needed to be done.
The king entered the home, being quickly met by the anxious faces of both of Summer's daughters. Each of them seemed excited to finally see their parents again. The looks on their faces made Aldo want to throw up, knowing that those faces would soon turn to dread. He couldn't bear to see it, but he needed to. If the King of Vale couldn't handle such a problem, how could he be trusted to run a kingdom?
Ruby's question only made matters worse. "King Aldo! Are my mom and dad with you?" Ruby asked with great excitement.
Aldo had to desperately fight back the tears in his eyes, swallowing hard. He needed to speak clearly, show no fear. He needed to be strong, for both of these girls.
He had to.
"Your parents, Aidan and Summer Rose..." He paused, only for a second to steel his nerves. "...died as heroes on the field of battle. Summer's sacrifice brought about the end of a war, and the safety of the kingdoms future..."
Aldo wished he could just die where he stood. Tears welled up in Yang's eyes, but even she turned to Ruby. The poor, dark haired girl was frozen in shock. Her skin turned an incredibly pale white, and she was nearly cold to the touch. This was confirmed when Yang placed a hand on her shoulder, only to recoil at the cold feeling. But what happened next was terrifying.
Ruby screamed at an incredibly high pitch, enough to crack each window in the house. Everyone in the house covered their ears, their hearts threatening to bounce out of their chests. Ruby continued screaming, showing no signs of stopping. Yang uncovered her ears, wrapping the girl in a tight hug, trying to calm her down. It took several minutes to get the girl to stop screaming, only for her to break down in a pool of tears.
"She lied to me! She promised she'd come back! SHE PROMISED!" Ruby whaled.
The dark haired girl tightly gripped the red fabric around her, the knuckles of her hands turning even whiter. Her entire body was trembling, and the site was too much. Another few minutes had gone by before Ruby passed out from exhaustion. Glynda had put her and Yang to bed, gently shutting the doors to their rooms. She rejoined Aldo just outside the house.
"Glynda...for the next few years, you are no longer to care for my daughter. I want you to take care of these girls until the eldest one turns fifteen years of age. They will be allowed to stay here, tax free out of respect for Summer."
Glynda did nothing but nod, wishing to get away from all of this for a while. Aldo looked at two knights had ordered to keep watch of the house, making sure they understood not to let anyone near the house. When they nodded in confirmation, he took his leave, wishing to forget about everything that transpired.
He knew he never would. The burden of royalty was a steep one, but one that needed to be held.
Ruby awoke the next morning, still gripping her mothers cloak. The memories of Aldo's visit still ripe in her mind. Her heart hurt, and she wished it would stop. Even her sleep hadn't been peaceful, as she had a terrifying nightmare. All she could see was her mother's bloody body, lying on the ground in pain and agony. She tried to run to her, trying to help her, but she failed. Her mother had died, and only her father was there to comfort her. His strong arms wrapped her in a hug, to which she returned. To her horror, her father slowly faded away into nothingness, leaving her sitting on the floor in tears in total darkness.
"I...I hate you..." she cried. "You promised me you'd stay with us...I needed you here with me...you liar..."
Yang had heard her sisters cries in the other room, filling her with the urge to aid the saddened girl. Entering the room, Yang pulled Ruby into a tight hug, slowly stroking her hair as tears fell down both of their faces.
"It's...gonna be okay Ruby..." Yang choked out. "We're gonna be fine..."
Ruby said nothing and never returned the hug. Instead, she just sat on the bed, wrapping herself up in the red cloak she now held dearly. Even when Yang gently kissed her forehead, she did and said nothing. Yang was beginning to worry even more about the younger girl, wondering just how broken she was.
"Come on Ruby...we need to get something to eat."
Ruby shook her head, not wanting to leave her spot. Yang lightly pushed her toward the edge of the bed, but she still refused to move. Yang sighed, getting up off of the bed and heading toward the kitchen to get breakfast for the both of them. She set the food down on the dresser in Ruby's room and just sat on the bed, hoping Ruby would eventually eat.
She never did.
Hours had gone by and still, the younger girl refused to eat. A few hours turned into an entire day, the younger girl having done nothing but cry herself to sleep. Yang was starting to freak out, and had even tried to get the guards to call Glynda for help. When the woman had arrived, she nearly had to force feed the girl. When she finally managed to get Ruby to eat, she kissed the young girl on the forehead and tucked her into bed. This routine would continue for several more weeks.
The news of everything that the orphans were going through quickly spread through the kingdom. Everyone worried for the small girl, stopping by to make sure everything was ok, and even donating food, drink, and clothes. Ruby never would wear the clothes. She would need to be coaxed into eating or drinking any of the food. She would never take off that red cloak.
Ruby's nightmares had also continued, lasting for the another few years. Even though she hadn't been there, her overactive mind created various scenarios in which they could've played out. Each one was bloodier than the rest. She was slowly beginning to believe those dreams over anything the other knights would tell them. Her mother had died, and even caused her fathers death. It was her mothers fault that they were alone.
It was all Summer's fault.