Honestly I was a little afraid of posting this chapter, after how well received the first was. Took me quite a bit of rewriting until I was satisfied with it, I didn't want to disappoint anyone. Believable dialogue is hard to make.
This was also the first time I ever wrote a fight scene. It was... strange.
But you're not here to listen to my babbling. Second chapter, go.
2. A Lonely Girl
Ruby vaulted over the podium, trying to evade the flurry of attacks coming her way. The sculpture jumped in pursuit, leaning its weight forward into a punch, the clear marble grazing skin, as the hit just barely missed the huntress' face. Countering the attacks was pointless, her measly hands could never damage stone, so she turned tail and ran further away from the relentless opponent, reaching the trees before stopping to look back. The creature was still coming after her, with a cold and soulless look in her eyes.
The archer quickly considered her limited options. Fighting was out of question, so that left only sprinting away to the village, hoping the golem would not follow. Fleeing was, nevertheless, not the most desirable solution, forcing her possessions to be left behind. That hunting kit was her only means of sustenance, plus it had costs them a small fortune, one that she had worked for years to repay with meat and pelts.
She was torn from her thoughts as the statue reached the edge of the clearing. It stood a few feet from her, but made no motion to attack. Ruby had no idea what the cause for such a change was, but she took the opportunity to try and circle her adversary.
As soon as the dark-red haired girl moved to the side, the white figure turned as well, trying to block her passage. Luckily, speed was the huntress' strength, hardened by many seasons of stalking prey, so she managed to slip back inside the garden, ducking when another assault telegraphed towards her head. Her physical form and advanced acrobatic skills, necessary to her profession, gave her the edge in evasiveness, but without proper tools her attack power was null.
She crouched at an incoming strike, then cartwheeled to the center, hoping to grab something from the supply pile. Springing back to her feet, she tensed the muscles on her leg, swiftly leaping again to avoid a low kick from the marble monster. Registering the items she had successfully picked up, the internalized training kicked in, as two fingers trailed a blunt-head arrow against the bowstring, pulling it back as hard as possible, before releasing it with almost no need to aim. Another followed instantly, two blurred projectiles flying towards the enemy. It was a desperate measure, and the archer backstepped repeatedly without waiting for the reaction.
The first bolt hit the statue's chest, the force interrupting her advance, right as the second struck her square in the forehead, causing a noticeable flinch. The small victory was clouded in bitterness as the stone girl recovered and pressed onward once more. Ruby strapped the quiver on her back, useless now that she had used her only blunt ammunition. They weren't usually very useful against small game, so the rest of her ammo was sharp, made for perforation, and of no use against hard surfaces.
Out of ideas, the red-hooded huntress opted for one last frantic attempt to tip the scales in her favor, rolling towards the adversary. She pressed her whole strength onto the sculpture's leg, hoping it would be enough to break her balance and cause her to fall over. The girl made of marble didn't budge an inch, unimpressed by miserable amount of force dealt, but pressed her foot forward, propelling the human into the air.
Ruby struggled to regain balance, but her power was draining out fast, and she landed against one knee. Looking up, she saw the fast approaching monster, and a feeling of powerlessness rendered her nigh immobile, her mind crumbling with the certainty that she wouldn't be able to avoid the next blow. She shut her eyes and raised her fists above her face, bracing for the impact that would surely mean the end of the battle, and quite possibly her life.
But it didn't come. Slowly opening her eyes, she saw the stony figure frozen in place, her fist still hanging mid-flight, donning a bewildered look on its face. The statue gradually lowered her hand, and opened and closed its mouth, struggling to speak, still as confused as before.
"F… Father?"
Ruby took some time to make sense of the words, the panic still clenching her throat tight. Does she think I'm her father? It made no sense, but neither did a talking sculpture, so she humored it as best she could, shaking her head in denial.
"Where… where is father?" the girl's voice was soft and melodic, if a little too high-pitched.
The huntress shook her head once more. "I don't know. I don't know who your father is."
"But you have his amulet…" She glanced down, and Ruby realized she was talking about the golden trinket wrapped around the archer's wrist. That wasn't good, if the golem thought she had stolen it the bloodthirsty eyes could return any moment, and the short fight had only proven she had very little chance of survival, even further confirmed by the aching muscles she was now starting to feel.
"I found it downstairs… there was a big libr-"
"Then you must have seen him! That's his lab!" Ruby cringed as the statue grabbed her by the shoulders, nearly shouting into her face. It didn't appear to have violent intent, but the struggle they had just been through was still fresh in the dark haired human's mind.
"There wasn't anyone there. It looked like no one had been there for some time."
Her captor released her grip and stumbled a few steps back, before falling to a sitting position, dread stamped in her eyes, that she covered with her stony hands shortly after. It was an act of vulnerability, which was indescribably surprising coming from the massive stone creature.
"Then where is he? It's been so long…" The white-colored statue cried out, not expecting to be answered. She was nearly sobbing, although her body clearly wasn't outfitted for such.
And in a flash, there wasn't a mortal weapon ready to fire in front of Ruby, but a lonely girl in pain and needing help. Out of impulse, the silver-eyed huntress found herself kneeling on the ground, a hand over the cold rocky arm. She wasn't sure warmth would communicate through the marble, but it was an old reflex. If she saw someone in trouble, she had to help, regardless of prior quarrel. Yang would've called her naïve for behaving as such, but she preferred to consider herself good-natured, ready give second chances.
"Are you here all by yourself?" She asked kindly, not entirely certain on how to defuse the situation.
"I… yes. I keep guard to father's laboratory. He used to come see me at night, but a while ago he stopped…" The white-skinned girl lowered her head, the words that came out of her mouth sulking her deeper into sorrow.
"Your father… Who is he?"
"He's the one who made me!" A little light crept into her monochromatic eyes, hitting a brighter memory of the past. Ruby decided to press further, satisfied by the reaction as well as curious about these new pieces of information.
"Made? What do you mean?"
"You see, I'm not a real girl… Well, I guess that was pretty obvious, huh?" A sympathetic nod encouraged her to proceed. "Father couldn't have children naturally, so he decided to create one. He molded my body from marble, and then gave me a soul. I'm not absolutely sure how, he explained but I'm afraid I didn't exactly understand what he was saying." She giggled, remembrance comforting her grief.
"So, you're a girl inside a statue?" The redhead inquired with a subtle smirk, an idea starting to form in her head.
When the sculpture concurred, the huntress arched her back, leaning into the other girl, and planted a kiss on her lips. There was no response from the cold mouth, but it wasn't given time, as the gesture was over in a moment.
"Why did you do that?" The white eyes were wide, unable to contain her confusion.
Ruby blushed and drifted her gaze to the ground, struggling to mumble an answer. "It was stupid. I thought... in the stories my sister used to read to me, the curse would be lifted by the kiss of a fair maiden… I just… since you said were trapped in the stone, I…"
She was interrupted by the sound of a chuckle. She looked up, to see the golem bursting out into laughter, holding her sides to control herself. It was equally distressing and endearing to see, but the archer decided to pick the latter, feeling proud she was the cause for it, even if unintentionally.
"I'm not trapped." The regular tone returned after some time, laughter gradually fading out. "There is no curse to break, this is what I am. It's what I've always been."
"Oh, so you're not human…" Ruby paused for a second, then voiced the question that gnawing at her mind. "Wouldn't you want to be?"
"I... I never really considered it." She looked thoughtful, like she was weighing the options available. "I think I would rather be able to leave here. Since father's gone… I would like to see the outside world! He promised he would take me one day, to show me what lies beyond this forest…"
A glimmer of hope was noticeable in her voice, and the silence between them seemed to imply she was asking Ruby to take her away.
"You can't leave?" Was the only answer she could muster, unsure of where the conversation was going. Second chance or not, it was still strange to be hearing the deepest dreams of a thing that had just tried to kill her.
"No, I'm bound to that." The statue pointed to the podium she used to be on top of. "I can only move in the nearby area, and only at night. My purpose was to protect the lab, and nobody ever came to this parts, so Father thought the dark would be the only time we needed a guard. You know, because of the beasts."
The silver-eyed huntress nodded in agreement.
"So if you move the stone base, could you walk around its new location?" Sparks flew inside the archer's mind, a plan coming into place.
"I guess. I haven't tried it, but it makes sense."
Ruby cracked a wide grin. "Then I think I might be able to help you."
"REALLY?" The sculpture shouted in excitement, the joy overwhelming her at such a prospect.
"Sure! It's late, and I really should head home now. But tomorrow, I'll have a surprise for you." The dark-red haired girl winked, while she stood up and dusted off her legs. Then, before turning to leave, she stopped and extended her hand towards the marble figure. "I'm Ruby, by the way. Ruby Rose."
The other smiled back at her, and shook her hand.
"My name is Penny."
I'm aiming for this rhythm of a new chapter every 3 days, more or less. The third is taking longer than planned, I didn't expect to get sick, but I'm confident it will be done in time.
A thousand thanks to those who reviewed, favorited and followed. Keep at it.