Hello, Internet roamers! I am a woman of my word. Ergo, here is my Oswald x OC (sort of) story. I sincerely hope you like this, as I tried to keep faithful to Oswald's storyline while also adding my OC and changing a couple of details here and there. Only 3+ reviews necessary for a new chapter!

-TDL

Prologue

Black is the color of night. Of the terrors that lurk within it.

Rain pelted the manor's windows, clacking like high heels on ice. Despite the air conditioners being on full-blast, the night's dampness still wormed its way through the walls. Mirrors were orbs of flat, smooth ebony. In their hidden havens, jewels shone dully like blind eyes. Candles sputtered as flames drowned in oceans of their own making. Grunts and whimpers rippled through the air like tossed pebbles.

Burrowed in the covers, Ruby Sinclair was summoning black memories.

All of a sudden she was eighteen again. Eight years ago. An eon ago. Strapped to a table, biting and spitting at anyone who came near her. Poking and prodding at her like she was a wax sculpture that needed extra touches. She could still feel the cold spear of terror piercing her belly, hiding behind the fury. That memory was just as strong as that of her body, slick with stress beneath the papery gown. But above all she remembered the doctor's gaze as he injected her with the liquid that would change her existence forever. A horrible sting, a wave of agony, and then...

Ruby shot up from the bed with a scream. It flowed from her mouth like bright red liquid, painting the walls with her fear. She sat in her damp blankets, gasping and shaking, as terror lurked in her mind's corners. As she swallowed hard, trying to soothe her now-hoarse throat, she collected the upper cover and wrapped it around herself. Ruby sat there, rocking back and forth, trying to calm down. Even as she tried, the skin beneath the blanket rippled unsteadily.

A low moan trickled into her ears. Freezing her.

Slowly, like a puppet with rusted joints, she turned her head. Her door looked like a black, rectangular mouth in the darkness. Ready to swallow her if she went near it. But when another moan entered her field of vision, Ruby recognized its owner. Duty pushed her on her feet. She slid her feet in her favorite slippers, the ones with plastic diamonds on them, and put on her robe. Without thinking twice she approached the door, yanked it open, and dived down the stairs. As her feet drummed the steps, Ruby reached into her pocket and whipped out a match. With a flick of her wrist she dragged it across the wall. In a second it was burning in her fingers. A red flower.

Red is the color of anger. Lust. Danger.

Ruby treaded through the halls, safe in her little coccoon of light. Shadows twisted and adopted new shapes in their corners. Moths flickered above her head. Portraits of Van Dahls long since past gazed down at her, judging her. She could almost hear them spitting insults at her. Just like the doctors had when she'd first shown them her...gift.

"Unbelievable!"

"Disgusting!"

"This is unheard of!"

Would her master say the same, should he ever learn the truth? About what she could really do? Ruby shuddered. Pressed onwards.

It didn't take her long to reach her master's door. She hesitated, her knuckles brushing against the door. Ruby had been serving Elijiah Van Dahl for seven years, since her nineteenth birthday. Before that, she had worked as a maid and housekeeper countless times. Never once had she found an employer as kind as Mr. Van Dahl, but even so, she could not ignore that entering his room at night would be extremely inappropriate. Besides, that bitch of his new wife would be there. No doubt trying to screw some extra golden eggs out of the magical goose. Growling softly, Ruby contented with peaking through the keyhole. Just in time to see a pale, robed figure shambling towards her.

White is the color of purity.

With a yelp Ruby backed away. The door opened with a sigh. Followed by a sob. A pale shadow loomed over her, yet curiously crouched to hide from sight.

Ruby's fear instantly melted into concern. The sobs continued, low in volume but intense in emotion. She felt her heart pinch at the sound. What had happened? She could count on one hand the number of times she'd seen Master cry. Ruby would have bet her favorite pearl ring that the whore he'd married had somehow caused it. But now was the time for comfort, not venomous speculation. Ruby's hand found the shadow's shoulder before she could stop it. "M-Master?"

"Oh!" Her master turned to her. A streak of lightning momentarily turned night into day. During that moment, Ruby saw it all. Elijiah Van Dahl's face was an open book to her. It was ashy in complexion, and streaked with silvery tearstains. His eyes were red and puffy, like raspberries. He blinked hard at Ruby, trying to identify her, before recognition rippled across his visage. "Oh, R-Ruby. I...I apologize. I..." He wiped his eyes and smiled sheepishly. "I didn't wake you, did I?"

"Who cares?" Ruby half-jokingly asked. Instead of cheering her master up as she had hoped, her jape only seemed to darken his sorrow. Briefly forgetting her place, she gestured to the stairs behind her. "Um, shall I prepare us a hot drink? Perhaps I can be of use." A crack of a smile. "My ears, anyway." To complete the runner-up quip, Ruby focused on her ears. They instantly grew to a freakishly large size, wiggling like worms on hooks. Master laughed feebly, unknowingly making Ruby glow. "Yes, thank you. I would rather enjoy that."

Ruby beamed.

Blue is the color of sadness.

How strangely reversing could life be. Years ago, on the eve of her first working day here, Ruby had been bundled in a blanket and sipping tea while Master had sat, listening quietly. Now, the exact opposite was happening. Only Ruby had added a dash of sherry to Master's tea.

It seemed to do him some good. With every sip, he appeared to be a bit calmer. In control. Yet he didn't look up from his mug. Not even when Ruby lit the kitchen's candles and accidentally burned herself.

They burned me. The memory returned, uninvited, from its locked box. To see if what they did to me affected my healing rate. They cut me, made me bleed-

Ruby shook the thought away. This wasn't about her. It hadn't been for a long time. Ever since the master had saved her, he had become the center of Ruby's life. She lived to serve him. Even if it meant serving his bitchy new 'family' as well.

Ruby desperately wanted to ask Master what was bedeviling him so. But she couldn't. She'd already forgotten her place by organizing this little meeting. If she treaded any further into this sort of territory, she'd find herself in quicksand. Instead, she simply stayed put by the stove, rubbing her hands behind her back. Still and patient as a statue.

"Thank you, Ruby. I truly needed this."

Ruby glanced up. The master was still looking down at his cup, tracing a finger over the rim. "I...was reading the newspaper earlier. The pain keeps me awake at night, you see."

Ruby shuddered. She hated being reminded of that. The hole in her master's golden heart.

"And...I came across the obituaries." He paused, took a deep breath, and closed his eyes. Ruby didn't move. She felt like she was in the same room as a scared rabbit. One sudden move and it would scamper away.

"And...someone I knew, many years ago, died recently." Master's eyes teared up again. He tried to hide it by sipping his sherry-laced tea. Ruby blinked, then glanced away, rubbing her arm. A question tried to slip out. She bit it back in. For a few more minutes, silence reigned the kitchen. Outside, the storm roared like a hungry lion. Rain threw itself against the glass and brick, trying to get in. Ruby began to clean the kettle that she'd used, just to give her hands something to do. Duty forbade her from leaving the kitchen. Loyalty kept her back turned as her master cried.

When the tears finally stopped flowing, Master sounded as in control as ever. "Ruby."

She turned her head.

"Could you go to Belles Fleurs tomorrow?"

"The florist?" Ruby quirked a brow, fully rotating. "Why?"

"I need to go to the Gotham Cemetery tomorrow." Master looked her straight in the eye. Ruby had never seen him look so serious before. Even in his most severe of states, there was always a twinkle in his eye. The hint of a smile. Not now. He looked like a man being forced to identify a corpse. "Oh, and please buy lillies; they were her favorite, as I recall."

"Her?" Ruby couldn't help asking.

Master smiled. It was the saddest smile that Ruby had ever seen. "If you wish to accompany me, you'll see. Tomorrow."