Welcome one and all to Bloodbound! Guess who's not dead! This story is the rewrite to my story Street Rose! And while some of the stuff is the same, like the romance, the basic plot, and the characters (I'll part with my OCs when I'm dead), everything else has changed. In summary, this is not the same story as Street Rose. You do not have to read Street Rose in order to understand this one.
So, buckle in and enjoy the chapter!
The night was alive with horror.
Shadows seemed to flicker and reach for Summer as she bolted past them all, her ears filled with the sounds of guttural snarls and the thud of heavy feet that crushed the forest floor flat.
It wasn't supposed to be this way, it was a simple stroll through the forest in the cool of the evening, everything was supposed to be fun and good. It was supposed to be a time when Summer could spend time with her youngest daughter on her birthday.
But as the last rays of day were swallowed up by the gloom of night, the abominations came out to play.
The Grimm, monstrous beasts of the world of Remnant that only felt bloodlust and thrived on despair.
And her daughter was now quaking with terror against Summer's chest as she plunged through the forest, back towards their home that now seemed universes away.
"Hang on, Ruby." Summer whispered to the frantic child in her arms. "We're almost home!"
Summer did not know if that was a lie or the truth, the only thing she was focused on was making sure her daughter lived to see tomorrow's dawn.
But the most hateful, logical part of her mind was buzzing with the facts of how Summer was weaponless, running out of energy and stamina thanks to her heedless charge through the forest, and defending a toddler from murderous creatures that did not care about the age of their victim…
No! Summer set her teeth in a snarl, her silver eyes burning with rage. She'll live even if I have to rip every Grimm apart with my bare hands!
And that situation looked like it would come true as shadowy, lupine forms appeared in front of her.
Beowolves, with their midnight-black pelts and their faces that resembled exposed skulls, they looked more than hounds of the underworld.
And Summer Rose planned to kill them all.
"Ruby, close your eyes." Summer took the time to brush her daughter's sweat-soaked hair out of her face. "Now."
Ruby's eyes, the same brilliant silver as her mother's, squeezed shut.
And Summer's eyes burned with a silvery light. A light fueled by an ancient ability possessed by a group of warriors with silver eyes. Warriors who legend says could kill a Grimm with a single glance.
Unfortunately for all the silver-eyed warriors who still lived, that was a bit of an overstatement.
Summer felt the power build and was just about to release the cleansing light when something slammed into her from behind.
The light vanished as Summer was thrown forward, her body automatically curling around Ruby to protect her as she hit the ground with a heavy thud and a sharp crack as her head made contact with a moss-covered stone.
Summer briefly felt like she could rise to her feet again, but that thought was quickly squished out when the blood began to cover her eyes and the world turned into a mess of confusion and fear.
All that flashed before Summer's eyes was a mass of colors and shapes that were utterly meaningless, she could still feel the wet warmth of blood running down her face, and the feeling of Ruby crawling out from under her.
No! Summer tried to move, to shout, to scream, to do anything! But all that she did only result in pain and nothing else.
All she could do was listen to the sounds that made their way through her haze.
The Alpha of the Beowolf pack looked down at the small figure in front of it. A small girl clad in a rose-red cloak and who smelled of terror and anguish.
The smell delighted the Alpha, it was beyond appetizing. So much better than the disgusting tang of confusion that Summer now reeked of. The scent of fear was so powerful in the child that the Alpha wanted to savor the meal that awaited it.
Ruby was not oblivious to want was about to happen to her, her parents had always told her what to do when she confronted the living shadows that devoured the flesh of creatures with souls. Her parents always told her to run as fast as she can away, to run to them so that they could protect her.
But her father was far away with Ruby's sister, they wanted to let Summer spend some time her youngest daughter.
And her Momma was laying on the cold, cold ground, blood staining the white cloak that Ruby used to love wrapping herself in. That smelled of vanilla and rose petals.
She was alone.
Ruby looked up, into the Grimm's eyes, and for the briefest of moments, she felt as if she was looking into oblivion, oblivion full of suffering and filthy darkness.
The Grimm leaped.
Ruby screamed in unadulterated agony as the creature's fang-lined jaw closed around her abdomen, blood as red as roses spilling out as her body was mutilated. Her red cloak growing dark with the lifeblood that stained the fabric. Another scream tore past her vocal cords. A wordless cry for help.
But no one heard and no one came, and the Grimm was merciless.
The agony that once was blinding suddenly raged into a pain that Ruby thought would rip her in two as the Beowolf lifted her off the ground like a chunk of dead flesh and began to rush through the forest like a dark demon's shadow. Blood running off of Ruby like red waterfalls of gore.
"MommraAAAAH!" She forgot words, she forgot thoughts and memories, and she forgot all things wholesome in the world as her mouth opened in an earsplitting shriek of pure torment that echoed across the forest.
And the darkness slithered out of the Void and dimmed Ruby's eyes.
And the darkness was welcoming. Ruby wanted to dive into it immediately, but her body seemed persistent on dragging her through pain unimaginable first. The whimpers that once screams still meant nothing to the unholy nightmare that was leading the small girl in its fangs deep into the forest and into oblivion. The darkness was closer now and Ruby felt its blissful numbness began to dull her mind.
But...
But just as the darkness was about to consume Ruby and send her to oblivion, something sparked to life inside her. A spark that unleashed a torrent.
Without warning, the world that Ruby could still sense through the darkness was lit brighter than the day and the forest was filled with silver light. And the last thing that Ruby knew before the light and the world it revealed was lost to her was her own tortured cry that was filled with innocence stained with blood and a heart that would never be the same.
Roman was having a bad night.
He had flown to a tiny island filled to the brim with stupid people. Suffered through a horrible night in some village inn whose last health inspection Roman firmly believed to have last taken palace during the Stone Age. And, finally, trekked out into some gods-forsaken woods to do business with the gods-forsaken criminal underworld of the even more gods-forsaken island of Patch.
Bunch of idiotic amateurs. Roman looked sourly at the sloppy thugs before him, listening to yet another moronic demand that the thugs wanted to be fulfilled. The forest clearing buzzed with the Chief thug's unceasing voice. And all of this just to expand your criminal enterprise just a little bit further? This had better be worth the trouble…
"…and guaranteed protection." The Chief thug finished. "Got it?"
"Of course," Roman said smoothly, holding out his arms wide, an elegant cane dangling from his right hand, he forced a warmish smile on his face as he stared into the Chief thug's eyes. "Wouldn't dream of anything else otherwise!"
I'm assassinating you first.
Unaware of his dark fate, the Chief thug nodded in satisfaction, causing all his Lesser thugs to copy him like a bunch of ugly puppets.
"Well, Mr. Torchwick." The Chief thug clapped his hands together. "Welcome to Patch."
"Oh, trust me." Roman's smile became a little less forced at the prospect this might afford to him. "The pleasure is all-"
His words were cut off by a blinding flash of light that cast the entire world into chaos and caused Roman to believe, for a very worrisome second, that he had been struck blind.
"HOLY HELLS, WHAT WAS THAT?!" Roman reared back, nearly dislodging the bowler hat perched upon his head, and slapped a hand over his probably-bleeding eyes. "IS ANYBODY GOING TO FIND OUT?!"
"Ugh…"
Roman lowered his hand and was, first of all, relieved that he could still see. The only problem with that was that Roman found himself staring at the mostly comatose bodies of the people he had just made business partners with.
"Well, this wasn't my best and brightest idea." Roman looked in disgust at the unconscious body of the Chief thug sprawled at his feet. "I'm going to have to replace every single one of you idiots."
Shaking his head, Roman strode off towards the trees, taking it upon himself to find whatever had caused the flash of light. With the strong moonlight shining through the gaps in the canopy to aid him, his gaze flickering here and there as he carefully moved through the undergrowth that snagged at his white suit jacket.
I hate nature! Roman swore vehemently as vines of thorns tore ragged holes in his sleeves and mud squelched beneath his rather expensive shoes as he moved deeper into the trees. Why did I ever think this was a good idea?!
He was about to give up on the search and return to where the thugs laid useless when he paused as if stopped by some invisible line. Something was off in the shadows of the woods.
Turning to where a young sapling grew between the two great trunks of primordial trees, Roman could see a splash of pale color laying amidst the darkness that had caught his eye only moments before. The color could have been anything that belonged in the forest, but Roman sensed that whatever the smudge was, it wasn't supposed to be here.
Cautiously, he moved towards the spot of hue. His cane gripped tight in his hand as he moved closer and closer to the young sapling and, soon, Roman clearly saw what the smudge of color really was.
A young, human child, a girl no more than four years of age, laying in a puddle of her own blood. A ragged cloak, nearly black with carnal fluid, sticking to her body. Her pale skin streaked with filthiness and her hair matted with debris from the forest floor. She was still and silent.
Roman stood there for a long second, staring at what had to be a corpse as even from where he stood in the dim light of the broken moon, Roman could make out the savage bite wounds that were slashed across the girl's belly.
The calling-cards of Grimm.
Shuddering with disgust at the barbaric cruelty inflicted upon a child, Roman stepped away from the girl's body. Unable to do anything remotely useless except hope that her death had been quick. He turned away from the brutal sight and began to stride away from the sapling and the corpse.
Only to be stopped by a whimper that rattled pathetically through the trees.
Roman turned around slowly, his emerald eyes wide with shock. No, she can't still be alive. Her wounds would have-
Another whimper rose through the air and this time Roman saw the girl's bloodstained face twist in a grimace that spoke of agony and anguish. Blood still seeped from her wounds.
Roman gaped at the small girl who held on to life with a single thread.
How can she still be alive? Roman did not understand how this child, this four-year-old, could survive a Grimm attack, have her torso nearly ripped apart, and still drew breath. But Roman realized that his lack of understanding meant nothing because the girl was alive and had survived her attack.
But not if she doesn't get help.
The thought struck Roman like a pang. It was true. Aura or no aura, the child would bleed out and pass into the Void if someone, if Roman, did not do something soon.
WHAT AM I GOING TO DO?!
That thought struck Roman, less like a pang, and more like a falling, flaming skyscraper. His mind buzzed with indecision and panic. If it was anybody else, anybody older, Roman would have left them to the care of fate. But it wasn't anybody else or anybody older.
It was a little girl, still a toddler and she was dying.
And Roman was the only one who could help her.
Another whimper, another breath closer to death and Roman knew it was time to make a choice.
The canopy of the forest, hidden in the darkness, rustled as the wind blew through it and Roman made his choice in an instant.
Striding forward, Roman Torchwick stopped down and placed his hands on the gaping wounds that covered the girl's abdomen. Blood seeped up between his fingers, but Roman ignored the disturbing warmth and focused on one thing and one thing only.
Saving the girl whose life hung by the barest strand of a thin thread.
For a moment, absolutely nothing happened. The forest remained shrouded in gloom and the only sounds to be heard was the unseen creatures scurrying in the dark. Then a green light bloomed forth from Roman's hands.
It has been a long time since I had to use this. Roman's face was thrown into sharp relief as the light grew brighter and he felt the girl's body began to heal.
It was an odd sensation. To feel someone else's muscle's knit themselves back together. To feel skin mend itself. To watch the pale green light flow over the child's entire body, healing all that it could.
She's still going to have scars. Roman watched the gashes that decorated her abdomen stopped its insane flow of blood. But she'll live.
The girl stirred, the debris on the forest crunching beneath her as her body shifted. Roman's breathing nearly stopped as he watched her, but her eyes did not open.
Her breathing, however, grew steadier and more rhythmic as the pain that had broken it faded from her body. Roman, his hands still glowing with the green light, felt the tension ease out of his own chest. She will get another chance at life.
Roman stemmed the flow of his semblance, of his healing touch, and looked at the girl whose face was now free from the harsh lines of pain and now was just brimming with exhaustion. And Roman felt the youth of the girl hit him like a roaring wind.
She's just a kid! Roman felt hate rise up inside him, hate directed at the monsters who did this to her, hate that he had to shove down to avoid attracting the attention of Grimm. A toddler!
But why would the world care? Roman couldn't stop the scoff the whispered past his lips as the more world-burden part of him broke through his emotion. It never has before…
The girl shifted again, but still did not wake from her near-stupor and Roman doubted she would anytime soon. The attack had nearly killed her, she needed rest and a lot of it.
And there, kneeling in some unnamed forest on an island few cared about, Roman made another choice. A choice that had first flickered to life as he was making sure the girl's life did not go out.
She's alone. Roman began to brush the dirt off her clothes and face, his fingers careful and gentle. And to all the world and its thoughts, the girl was. Alone in some nameless forest, bite marks covering her stomach, and the hint of a stained heart on her face. Who could ever think the girl had someone else in the world watching out for her?
But she does. The thought brought to Roman a feeling of warmth. He had made a choice and he planned to follow where it led him, no matter what.
He would care for the girl. He would take her into warmth and home. And he would do anything to protect her. He had to.
This is going to upheave a lot of things. Roman bent lower to the ground and lifted the girl up in his arms. She shifted once again and Roman was glad of it, she was simply sleeping now. But if that is what happens, then fine. So be it.
His cane stuck underneath his arm, Roman set back off to the clearing, his feet carefully taking the easiest path through the night-shrouded woods. The girl curled into the warmth of his chest as he carried her from the forest floor, past the trees that had guarded the forest for untold centuries, and into the shimmering light of the moon.
Roman looked down at the slumbering girl in his arms. You won't be alone ever again. I promise.
Summer leaned against the tree, breathing raggedly. Her hands filthy and bloodstained as she clutched the rough bark, using it to support her weight as she tried to clear the pain from her pounding head. I have…to find her.
Pushing off the trunk, Summer staggered with exhaustion through trees, the forest alight with the blinding rays of the blood-red dawn. The world swimming dizzily in front of her eyes as she stumbled on the uneven ground. Where is she?
Pushing out of tangles of thorns and snarled underbrush, Summer found herself staring down the slope of some rocky hill. A rocky hill where, at its base, shone a brilliant red, so much like the color of Ruby's cloak.
Summer took hold of the shred of hope that dangled in front of her and sprinted down the hill. But before she could take more than two steps, her body finally gave up on its will to push forward and sent her tumbling down the slope.
The dawn sky spun above and below her as she pitched down the hill, slamming off the sharp stones that depleted what was left of her aura and beat her skin to nothing more the bruises.
Rolling to a stop at the bottom of the slope, Summer attempted to get back on her feet…only to collapse again as a shooting pain arced up her leg.
NO! Eyes panicked, Summer began crawling forward with her hands. Anything, anything, to keep moving forward. Anything to keep searching for her daughter, her Ruby. But soon the pain that thundered through her body nearly sent her back to the murky haze that created this nightmare.
And a nightmare it had to be. For Summer refused this to believe this was real, refused to believe the blood and pain, refused to believe that her daughter was gone. Summer laid upon the damp earth and struggled to keep her tears at bay.
Weeping won't help Ruby. I have to find her! I have to save her! I- Summer froze. There before her was a rose hued a brilliant red, the same red she had seen from the top of the hill, the same red as Ruby's cloak. Only, as she stared at it, a petal fell and drifted down to rest upon the rot of the forest floor.
That was all it took for her heart to falter. All it took for her mind to tell her to stop, to remind her that once a person was taken by the Grimm; hope was fruitless and heartbreak was certain. All it took for her mind to tell Summer what her heart so vehemently denied.
That her daughter, her little Petal, was dead. And with that realization, the tempest of emotions that raged inside her, the storm that Summer held back with the hope that Ruby was still alive, burst forth and Summer was lost among the torrents of her own heart and mind.
Lying on the cold forest floor, Summer Rose wept.
So, what'd you think? Yay? Nay? Meh? Tell me what you think! But yeah, that was the first chapter of Bloodbound! Like I said before, this is a very different story then Street Rose and I'm looking forward to seeing what you guys think of it! So, goodbye for now and I'll see you all in the next chapter!