They appeared to her in dreams: the girl of wind and the girl of fire. When reality faded away, everything still felt so real. She found it hard to differentiate between the real world and the world that her subconscious would create. Sometimes she would be aware of the truth, but it didn't stop every emotion she felt from feeling as real as if she was awake. It didn't stop the pain from feeling all too real either.
One day, a girl of incredible power appeared in her dreams, and no matter how hard she tried to will her away, the girl refused to leave. Night after night, she was plagued by the fiery blonde, finding no rest even as she slept. Escape was futile. No matter how fast she ran or how well she hid, the girl of fire would always find her and inflict wild, unrestrained torture upon her body and psyche.
Being near this girl brought about the most uncomfortable heat she had ever felt. As if knowing she felt ill-at-ease, the girl would allow her hands to become engulfed in flame, leaving burn marks upon every inch of skin she touched. She would scream then, desperate to wake up, but rarely would the waking world rise to bring her relief. What she remembered most though, through ever second of agony, was the ever-present grin on the girl's face, sneering at her as she was forced to endure horrible torment. It tainted her dreams and haunted her in the waking world.
The effects were noticeable. Her entire body would be sore, her eyes heavy as if she had stayed up all night. Whenever she would walk the halls of the school by herself, she was constantly on edge, looking over her shoulder in fear that the girl of fire would appear. It was irrational, but after so many consecutive nightmares, rationality went straight out the window.
Clearly this wasn't normal, but the last thing she wanted was for others to see her as not normal. Who would believe such a story anyway? They would deem her crazy, and she didn't want all the attention for something so unbecoming, so she would keep it to herself. When her family would question why she looked so tired all the time, she would brush them off with claims of 'late night studying'.
It reached a point where she actively feared sleeping. Falling asleep would mean dreaming, and that meant the girl of fire would return to wreak havoc on her. She couldn't take it anymore, so she would force herself to stay awake. Deep into the night she would sit on the computer, hugging her knees against her chest, until she could feel herself slipping. Then she would stand up and start walking, circulating her tired blood. Anything was better than what she had to endure in the dream world.
The human body wasn't meant to stay awake forever though. She had made it nearly three days, where every second was a struggle to keep her eyes open. Her body had become noticeably twitchy, and she was horribly jumpy, startled by any sudden movement. Every shadow was an enemy trying to drag her down into the depths of depravity. Nearing the seventy-two hour mark, her body gave up on her, and she collapsed to the floor in her room, unconscious before she hit the ground.
Her eyes opened to take in a dark, foreboding forest. It was clear that she had failed: she was dreaming again. When she saw the girl of fire walking towards her, tears began to fall down her cheeks. Her lower lip trembled as the girl came closer, that familiar grin mocking her. "You've been gone awhile." Her voice echoed around the forest, the two of them trapped together beneath the trees. "I was beginning to think you didn't want to see me anymore."
The way the girl's lips curved into such an aggravating simper heated up the area. She tried to speak, but no words came out, voiceless in her own dreams. Her arms were also useless, remaining rigid at her side. Conspiring against her, her body had just decided to shut down. Resigned to her fate, she shut her eyes and waited for the torture to commence. Suddenly an incredible breeze blew through the forest, whipping around her with such an intense ferocity. When she opened her eyes, the fiery blonde had stepped back, frustration evident on her face. Then the forest became a blur, and the girl of fire was gone.
Blinking in confusion, she realized that she was being carried away, held firmly in the arms of another person. A light blush dotted her pale cheeks at the closeness, but she decided against questioning it. Instead, she wrapped her arms around the person and held on for dear life, shutting her eyes once more.
Her eyes stayed shut until the world stopped moving, until her feet were back on the ground. When she opened her eyes, she was met with a curious, worried silver stare. She was taken aback, but there was no energy left to try and move away. Instead she just stood there, heart still racing, waiting for whatever was to come next.
"Are you alright? Did my sister hurt you?" Sister? She tried to comprehend what she was being told, but it was hard to believe the person who had saved her was the sister of her tormentor. Rubbing her eyes, she got a good look at her savior, but they looked nothing like the girl of fire. Still, she wasn't in a place to question it, as she was way too exhausted to even think about what to question first. Instead, her knees buckled and she began to fall over, her real life exhaustion having bled into her dreams. Before she could hit the ground though, her savior caught her.
"Don't worry, I've got you!" She could feel the concern and the warmth in her savior's eyes, a much more calming warmth than from her tormentor. It had been so long since she felt reassured in her dreams, but now that near-forgotten feeling had returned. A smile slowly graced her lips, and then she woke up.
Things were different now. Her waking moments were filled with memories of silver, and every light breeze that tickled her skin sent her mind right back to a place that now brought security. No longer did she fear the nightmare of sleep: now she embraced it. Curled up in her bed, she would no longer dream of a dark, terrifying forest, but of a beautiful stretch of plains.
It was up and down the grassy plains that she ran with her savior, the girl of wind. Holding onto the girl's hand, she found herself able to race through the grass at exhilarating speeds. It was there that she felt free, not only from the specter of her tormentor, but from the aggravations of daily life. In her dreams, there was no one but her and her savior. She already felt an immense sense of gratitude, but as time went on, her feelings grew into something more.
Those feelings didn't blossom immediately. It took time, but slowly she realized that the way she felt about her savior was more than mere gratitude. When they were together, the world seemed sunnier. While awake, she would find herself smiling stupidly at the thought of something they had talked about the previous night. When asleep, happiness came a lot easier than it ever had before. She could say without hyperbole that this was the happiest she'd ever been in her life.
They shared their first kiss beneath a sunny, cloudless sky. She had been running too fast and tripped over her own feet, and in a desperate attempt to stay upright she grabbed onto the only thing she could reach: her savior's arm. They both toppled over onto the grass, with her savior landing on top of her. The shock gave way to amusement, and soon they were both laughing without restraint.
A breeze blew over them as their lips touched, both of them having moved simultaneously without intention. Both of their eyes widened at the sudden contact, but neither made any motion to move away. Instead they deepened the kiss, lip-locked in a loving embrace. Though the kiss had been unexpected, she definitely didn't mind that it happened.
If before her dreams had been hell, now they were heaven. Everything that had gone wrong now felt so right. With a content sigh, she laid her head against the grass and closed her eyes, enjoying the sensation of her savior's fingers through her snowy hair. It was a wonderful feeling.
Her name was Ruby. She learned it on a day when she fell asleep in the middle of class. It was such a bittersweet feeling to have that name on her lips, only to be taken away by the cacophonous ringing of the school bell. Once her dreams were what she wanted to escape from, but now it was reality.
Now that there was someone in her life she truly cared about, she didn't want to leave. It didn't matter if it was all in her dreams. As far as she was concerned, life would be perfect if she could spend every second she had with Ruby, wrapped in her protective embrace, head held to her chest so she could hear Ruby's heartbeat. When she was with Ruby, she never wanted it to end, but every morning it always would.
Having to spend most of her day without Ruby was akin to torture. School no longer held any interest for her, and her parents began to worry about the lengthy amount of time she spent sleeping. They had begun to notice that she was going to bed earlier, and after school she would jump into bed and take a nap. She didn't care what they thought though: all that mattered now was Ruby.
In her dreams, Ruby was always there for her. She was protected from harm, and she felt warm and safe in her savior's loving embrace. There was nothing like the feel of the breeze against her skin as she ran without a care in the world. Nothing tasted sweeter than Ruby's lips upon her own. Waking up was just a letdown.
She spoke of her feelings to Ruby, and her savior always said the right things to keep her happy. "I'm in your heart while you're awake. No matter what, you'll always have me." It never failed to make her smile, but she still wished to have more time together. Anything less than every hour just wasn't enough for her selfish heart.
A particularly difficult assignment began to keep her up later and later into the night, stealing away her precious time with Ruby. The project didn't even interest her, and the fact that it kept her from sleeping soured her attitude further. She was only doing it because it was mandatory, and it was required for her to get good grades to keep up appearances.
At the same time, her parents began to get on her for her sleeping habits. Even her own sister gave her grief over it. Apparently, it didn't matter that now she was being forced to stay up all night making sure everything was perfect. She had been sleeping 'too much' before, and as far as they were concerned, it was still going on. It put her in a bad place.
As her time with Ruby grew shorter, her dreams started to become more chaotic. Though no harm had come to her, more and more often Ruby wouldn't be there. In the depths of the shadows though, she swore she saw another familiar face skulking about, flitting between the peripherals of her vision. Those dreams always felt so uncomfortably hot. No matter how well she hid, it seemed that truly she could never escape.
It became too much. The pain of feeling more and more alone affected her mental state. Her chaotic dreams worried her to no end. What if she was never able to see Ruby again? She decided that enough was enough: this had to end. There wasn't a savior now to free her from her prison without bars, so she would have to be her own savior.
Taking her credit card to the nearest pharmacy, she purchased a bottle of sleeping pills and brought them home. Standing in the bathroom, looking at herself in the mirror, she unscrewed the cap and tilted the bottle against her palm. One pill, two, three... She didn't want to take any chances: all she wanted to do was be with Ruby forever. With a shaking hand, she kept going until she held a handful of pills. Then she opened her mouth and tossed them back.
Her throat constricted, resisting the intrusion, but she quickly filled up a glass of water and drank it, helping the pills slide down her throat without further resistance. Gasping for breath, she gripped the sink tightly and made eye contact with her wide-eyed reflection. It didn't take long for the pills to kick in, her grip loosening. Her hands flailed helplessly at the sink as she collapsed against it, sending the bottle of pills scattering all over the porcelain.
She slid off the sink and collapsed to the floor, panic setting in with the realization of what she had done. It was too late, though. Her sight was already growing dark. Instinctively she reached out, but her hand grabbed nothing but air. As the world began to fade away, a loving voice whispered in her ear.
"I'm waiting for you, Weiss. Come home to me."