The Pumpkin King
Rating: T
Summary: This first story is based off of Jim Henson's Labyrinth, where Ruby dreams of a handsome king from her favorite story book.
Notes: So, the first three stories here were originally posted on Ao3 and Tumblr for Rosewick month back in 2017, but I only got as far as the first three days. Admittedly, I didn't care too much for the other stories I came up with, so I scrapped them. But instead of deleting the entire work, I have decided to make this a colletion for any Rosewick stories that come to my mind. I also have a new app that allows me to post from my phone here! Pls enjoy!
She had had the book for as long as she could remember...
Ruby Rose had no idea where it had come from; it had just randomly showed up among her other fairytale books. It was called 'The Pumpkin King and the Obsidian Castle'. It told the story of a young man who was cast out of his hometown by the townspeople due to his strange powers. He took refuge in a mysterious castle made from obsidian and was in the middle of a grand but dead pumpkin patch. Using his powers, the man brought life back into the patch and pumpkins of all sizes, shapes, and even colors began to grow. Some even came to life. Eventually, the patch became a small village of living pumpkins who loved and admired the man. But even though he was finally among those who cared about him, he seemed to still felt lonely.
The book ended with the living pumpkins crowning him their king.
Ruby must have read the book over a thousand times, falling in love with it even more each time. She had always loved fairytales, but this one was special. Even though she didn't quite understand what drew her to it. Her sister Yang would often teased her about having a crush on the Pumpkin King. She always caught Ruby staring intently at his sketched pictures while she read the story. Ruby would always pass her sister off as crazy, but as the years went by, she began to believe her.
She also felt a strange connection with the king. She had been somewhat outcasted by her school mates for being the way she was. She even felt apart from her family. Her sister, being two years older, always wanted to do adult things that couldn't include her and her father was rarely even home due to work and drinking. She knew they loved her, but it was getting harder to prove it. She was just as lonely as he was.
That's how she is now; all alone in her bedroom on the night her sixteen birthday. It was not only a Saturday, which meant her father would be spending majority of the day bar hopping, but also Halloween so Yang spent the whole day getting ready for some large party. Both completely forgetting about her birthday.
Ruby was all alone.
She spend the whole day in her room rereading all her fairytale books, only coming out to eat and go to the bathroom. She saved the Pumpkin King book last. But as night fell and she began reading it, she started to cry. She did her best not to but it couldn't be help. The connection she felt in the past with the lonely king became even stronger as she looked at his pictures. Her tears fell silently onto the pages; onto his drawn face.
"I wish you were real," she sobbed quietly, "I wish you would come to me and take me away with you so I would never be lonely again. So you'd never be lonely again either..."
Ruby closed the book and sat it next to her bedside table. Curling up into a ball on her bed she began to cry harder. She was so in her own little world that she didn't notice the book beginning to glow a warm orange. The orange became brighter and brighter until the book was no longer visible. It then slowly began to move, first a flinch, then a small jump, then a large jump which caused the book to land on the floor and open up to its final pages. Ruby looked up from her ball, startled at the noise. Seeing the glow that had once been her book, she jumped off her bed and backed away to the far corner of her room in fear. The last pages soon emitted an even brighter glow of their own, only this time shooting upward into a beam.
Slowly a shape came forth from the beam. Like a person walking into a room from a door. Ruby's eyes widen in disbelief when she realized who it was that was now standing before her; it was the Pumpkin King. His hair the exact same shade of orange as a pumpkin, his eyes a gorgeous shade of green, and his smile was lovingly as he looked at Ruby. He was dressed in a white over coat, black pants, and knee high boots; all of which was decorated with golden pumpkins and leaves. In his gloved hands he held a cane like staff which had an obsidian pumpkin atop of it and a jack o lantern design at the bottom.
Ruby's breath left her a moment before coming back to her. She was unable to move at the sight before her. Was this real? Had she fallen asleep? Was she dreaming? As if reading her thoughts, the king laughed softly.
"You are not dreaming, Little Red," he spoke in a deep but calm voice, "I really am here. I always have been, waiting for you to call for me. When you finally did was I able to come to you."
Ruby's silver eyes widened. Everything made since now. The sudden appearance of the book, the connection she had felt with him, it was all because of him. The story was real; He was real. Slowly, Ruby came forward, her hands reached out to him. Feeling his form and his warmth only strength the fact. The Pumpkin King was actually here in her room, in front of her. Not some dream or illusion.
Happily Ruby wrapped her arms around him, pulling him into the deep hug she always had wished she could give him. He hugged her back tightly. After several moments, they pulled back to look into each other' eyes, but remained locked in the embrace. She trailed her fingers up his jawline making him close his eyes and lean into her touch.
"Will you come with me?" He asked softly, "Become my queen and be together with me forever?"
Ruby thought about his offer. Going with him meant leaving behind Yang and her father. If she said no, she'd be alone again for who knows how long. As much as she'd miss her family, she wanted to be with him. He seemed to notice her dilemma.
"You can always come back whenever to visit your family," he said softly, "Once you've become bonded to me you will gain powers of your own and will be able to travel back whenever you wish." That made Ruby's resolve strength and make up her mind.
"Yes," she answered, "I'd love to be with you forever." She knew where she belonged. Even if it meant leaving her old life behind, she knew she belonged with him. Besides Yang would be leaving for collage soon and her father would still always be occupied. They wouldn't notice her absence for a while. The king smiled and leaned forward to kiss her, which she happily returned. The bright glow returned suddenly around them, melting away her room.
When they broke apart, Ruby found herself standing in a large master suit she recognized as his bedroom. She also found herself dressed in a lovely gown that resembled an upside down rose. Her black and red hair was longer and curled with gold and red leaves, vines, and petals woven into it. Looking back at the king, a sudden question popped into her head.
"Umm so the book forgot to mention your name..." she said awkwardly. The king's cheeks turned pink as he flushed with embarrassment.
"Oh...of course...I had nearly forgotten about that..." he said, "the book was the only way to make contact to you and it wouldn't let me say my name to you..."
He backed away in order to bow to her.
"Roman Torchwick, milady, The Pumpkin King and current owner of the Obsidian Castle." Ruby smiled and bowed the same way as he did.
"Ruby Rose, my king, high school student, and...currently engaged to the Pumpkin King?" She asked that last part. Roman smiled and walked forward to take her into his embrace once again.
"Currently engaged to the Pumpkin King," he agreed, kissing her once again. "Come, I shall introduce you to your future people and kingdom." Roman led Ruby to the large balcony doors and opened them. Walking out, Ruby gasped softly as she gazed out into the beautiful land and all the people below, who began to cheer upon seeing her. Happy that their beloved king had finally been able to bring his love to their world.
"Long live the Pumpkin King and Queen!"
