A/N: This is an idea that keeps nagging me to write it. Let's say this is like 5 years in the future. Also, as kind of a challenge, since I know this isn't going to turn out how I want. One of you talented writers feel free to take the idea and run with it. I've deleted the first attempt. I'm much happier with this one.
It was a fools errand, she realizes far too late. The shattered moon watching over, painted pink from the red cast light of the grimmlands. Her body felt heavy and warm, all the strength sapped from her. She was dying after all. No part of her current situation was a surprise. She was glad she at least landed on her back. She took comfort in watching the moon. The rooms only other occupant sitting on a throne fir for the queen of the grimm.
She didn't regret her decision to come to the queen of the Grimm unarmed. She thought and hoped she would complete her, frankly crazy self imposed mission and pop back home. Optimism is funny like that she thinks. The quiet in the room feels heavier than her body. "Hey Salem, is it ok if I talk a little? It feels a little lonely dying in silence." Ruby struggles to speak, lungs and ribs screaming at her with each breath.
Salem looks over the tiny reaper laying in a pool of ever growing red. "Do what you wish child." Her voice is cold, yet not unkind.
Silver eyes search the moon, desperate to think of a topic. She mentally berates herself for asking to speak with no topic in mind. She blinks and remembers the vision Jinn shared with her group all those years ago. It may be because she herself is on deaths door that something strikes her.
"I'm sorry." Ruby's breath hitches pain radiating through her.
Salem tilts her head a bit, when she speaks it strikes the silver eyed girl how weary she sounds. "You needn't apologize, this was simply your fate. You were always going to come here and I was always going to kill you." Ruby doesn't miss the way the bitter undertone works it's way into Salems voice.
"No, not about that." Ruby pauses catching her breath. "I mean about Ozma, the first one, I mean. I'm sorry for your loss. The vision Jinn showed us, no one seemed to care for you. So, I'm sorry."
Salem isn't angered at the silver eyed girls statement, she becomes curious despite herself. "What would you know of loss child." Her voice is again cold but not unkind.
"I lost my mother when I was little, two friends when Beacon fell, more along the way. I miss them." A few tears fall from her eyes, everything becomes fuzzy and she drifts into unconsciousness.
The Queen regards the tiny girl again. This little one does know of great grief and loss. She could feel the waves of emotion washing over her as the girl spoke. A blessing or a curse from being grimm. Salem never quite decided. She slips into deep thought considering the dying child on her throne room floor. Watts walks into the room and moves towards the girl. He aims to remove the "mess". He argues with the Queen when she tells him "leave her." He blinks in terror when she repeats again, tone lower.
It's an hour later when silver eyes finally flutter open. Salem watches the girls face as confusion, fear, and finally remembrance cycle quickly through the childs expressions.
"Hey, Salem?" Ruby breathes out, voice hoarse.
"Yes child?" The queen of the Grimm leans forward to hear the dying girl.
"Would you tell me about Ozma? Not Professor Ozpin, the man you fell in love with." Ruby manages to turn her head enough to see the immortal woman.
"Why would you ask such a thing? You stated Jinn had shown you." Salem adjusts herself in her throne, gazing down on the girl, she notes the child has grown paler.
"I dunno, in the vision you two seemed like you were really in love. That's why I guess.? The dark haired girl focuses on the queen of the Grimm willing her eyes to stay open.
"Very well child. Ozma was brave and kind, the very best things humanity had to offer. Together we slew beasts, saved towns. He was what your fairy tails call a knight in shining armor. we only had a year together before he died, so I'm afraid there isn't much to tell."
"You loved him. I'm sorry things didn't turn out for you two. I wish you would have had a happy ending." Ruby cries again, this time inexplicably for the queen for some reason Ruby feels heartbroken on her behalf.
Salem is caught slightly off guard. Her grim senses picking up the flood of emotions. She isn't sure why but she chooses to try and comfort and distract the dying child. "There's no use dwelling on the past child, what's done is done. Child, do you perchance have your own prince? Salem surprises even herself.
A sad smile crosses the tiny reapers face. "Yes, his name is Jaune, he is kind and determined, always putting others before himself. He was my first friend at Beacon, hes always been by my side. I'm just sorry he's going to have to grieve a woman he loves again." Salem moves to ask what "again" means but the tiny girl loses her battle with consciousness again. Salem notes how ragged her breathing has become. A strange tightness in her throat and chest.
It takes longer for Ruby to come to this time, moon farther in its trek along the sky, reflecting the brilliant red hue of the grimmlands.
"Hey Salem?" She asks barely a whisper.
"What is it child?" Salems voice almost sounds kind.
"What were your daughters like? You don't have to tell me, I was just remembering how gentle your face was when Jinn showed us your story" her voice fading.
"They were my everything. Sweet, kind, curious, the oldest one had her mothers temper. The middle two would argue over who was the favorite, the youngest was the most like her father" Salem stops speaking, the memories becoming overwhelming.
Ruby again sheds a tear for the grimm queen. Sale watches her but neither speaks for a while Ruby falls unconscious again. Salem picking up on a different sort of grief from the girl. She ponders it over waiting on the girl to either wake or pass on. The tightness in her chest returns. The feeling starting to become familiar.
Ruby wakes again, she doesn't have the energy to turn her head towards the sky and track the moon.
"Hey Salem? Her voice is but a whisper again, maybe even less.
Salem moves from her throne, she cant say quite what compels her to do so. Ruby watches her move across the floor. She squeezes her eyes closed when the immortal woman kneels down beside her. Shes expecting the blow that would end her life even more prematurely. Ruby's eyes shoot open when Salem simply takes her hand from the floor holding it in her own.
"Speak child." There's no coldness yet neither any comfort in the tone of her voice.
"I wish things would have turned out differently for you, Ozma too. You both lost so much. I wanted you to know someone cared I guess." The tiny girls breathes are coming farther and farther apart. Salem feels an odd sense of panic as her silver eyes focus and unfocus. She decides she must keep her talking.
"Child?"
"Yes….Salem? Ruby breathes out, coughing a bit.
"Why did you come here unarmed? Did you wish to die?" The queen of the grim wanted to understand the girl on her throne room floor.
"No, it's stupid, looking back on it now. I came hoping to talk. I'm tired of fighting grimm. I was so dumb, I came hoping to broker peace between the Grimm and humanity. It didn't exactly go the way I planned, obviously." Ruby searches the Grimm queens face. It looks oddly gentle.
"Why would you do such a foolhardy thing? Salems eyes lock with silver, her voice soft this time.
Ruby briefly wrestles with herself before sighing. "I didn't want to die battling grimm, I didn't want anyone else dying battling grimm, and" Ruby stops short gasping for air.
"And what child?" The tightening of her throat and odd sense of panic she is feeling caused Salems voice to sound harsh. Ruby cringe, Salem gently brushed a strand of hair from Ruby's eyes and softens her tone." what else child?" Ruby trys to answer she moves her mouth to speak but no words come out.
"Child, do you have regrets as your short life comes to an end?" Salem felt the need to keep the small dying girl talking. She couldn't remember this feeling, it felt odd, foreign.
"Only one." Ruby gasps for air, breathing becoming more difficult.
"Tell me child." Salem demands, eyes widening, this feeling coming closer to being identified.
"My knight will never get to meet his child. He doesn't even know I'm expecting." Ruby's grip on Salems hand is weakening. She needed time for multiple short insufficient breaths between each word.
Salems stomach flips. This emotion is starting to feel familiar, its terrifying. She moves the girls hand to her stomach in an act of compassion she places her own hand over the dying girls.
"Child." Salem demands.
"yes…Salem." Ruby gasps out.
"How long have you known?"
"yesterday… yesterday….I…I… wanted…a…. peace….ful…..world…for….my….child..so…i… came…maybe its….better…this…way…he wont…have…to…mourn…his…child.."
"is that why you asked about my daughters?" Salem whispers. Ruby squeezes Salems hand in response. Salem understands, a mother that will never know her own child grow. It's a pain she endured four times over.
"Hey, Salem?" the tiny voice is less than a whisper.
"Yes, child?" Salems voice is soft and kind, not quite warm.
"My mother… I see her… my friends too will you tell them I'm sorry?" Salem nods, the tiny reaper smiles softly. Her chest falls breath escaping the tiny girl. Salem watches for several long seconds. A tear falls from her eyes. She touches her face shocked, she wails in grief.
A moment passes, Salem registers an angry desperate scream. "GET AWAY FROM HER YOU MONSTER!" It's a tall blonde man, he's followed closely by several others. She moves away, no fight in her as the group circle the tiny body. The girl soon glows the color of the boys hands. The man desperately calling out to the girl. The girl gasps and sputters death unwilling to loosen its icy grip. Salem finds her heart racing as she wills the girl to live. "why isn't it working?" A blonde girl cries out. Salems heart drops.
Ruby gasps again, then again and again. "She`s coming to." One of the group yells out. There's a blur of activity for the next few moments. Salems guards finally running in weapons drawn. There's a tense stand off no one moving for several seconds. Salem slaps her hands on her throne grabbing everyone's attention.
"Stand Down!" She growls "leave this place."
"Your grace?" one asks confused.
"now." It's not yelled, her voice sounds calm. The threat evident. The group around the girl confused.
"yes ma'am." The terrified guards run from the throne room. Ruby's friends look to the grim queen, confusion on every face.
"No, Ruby, you shouldn't try and get up yet!" The blonde man sounds a little panicked.
"Hey, Salem." Ruby raises her hand stretching it towards the woman, still weak but beckoning the queen to her side.
The group parts unease in every face, their weapons drawn. Confusion reigns when Salem kneels down, taking the tiny womans hand in her own.
"yes child?" Her voice resonating with a strange warmth.
"Thank you for talking to me when I died." She smiles a tired sad smile.
"Now you wont have any regrets." The Grimm Queen finally understands something fundamental she had perhaps forgotten, or maybe never learned. She squeezes Ruby's hand and closes her eyes. Smiling she fades away the way all grimm do when they die. Finally free from her curse of immortality. She manages a "thank you to Ruby before finally fading out.
"What just happened?" Jaune asks still focusing on amplifying Ruby's aura. He and the others confused.
"Salem curse was to live until she learned why the balance of life and death. Miss Rose, what happened here?" Oz/car asks curious a strange sensation coming over him, somehow feeling that he was finally living his last life.
"She just talked to me, I was scared of the silence while I… while I was dying, I don't know why but she humored me." A tear falling down Ruby's face.
"I don't understand, what did the two of you talk about," Jaune was trying not to focus on what very nearly came to pass.
"A little bit of this, a little bit of that. She asked me if I had regrets about dying, I told her just one." Ruby looks thoughtful, Silver eyed searching the moon. "Maybe it was my answer that swayed her."
"Can you tell me what your regret was?" Jaunes blue eyes search silver.
Ruby smiles, she gently takes Jaunes hands in her own. She presses his hands onto her lower stomach. His eyes widen, understanding settling over his face. He buries his head into her side. The weight of all he nearly lost kicking in. The rest of the group gather around the two. The world isn't much different from the world of yesterday, but at the very least two immortal souls had found rest. Grimm still roam Remnant, hunters and huntresses will still be tasked with keeping humanity safe, and one tiny soul will get to be born into the world.
A/N: seriously, someone, anyone, I love this idea but cant execute it well! Oh well, hope you enjoyed at least the concept dear readers.