There has been a significant hiatus in my writing, and you'll have to forgive me for that. I was diagnosed with acute appendicitis, which meant I had a very painful few weeks, and a couple nights in hospital. Since then I've lacked the motivation to write, especially for an ongoing saga like Elements of Change.
So unfortunately, updates for this fic will probably occur at much longer intervals than I'd hoped.
However, in order to make up for this, I will be creating some regular short RWBY one-shots, which I believe will spur my creativity and help me to get back on track for regular writing.
Enjoy Chapter 3, anyway.
With a squinted eye and a delicate flick of the wrist, Ruby completed her creation.
Phew. That was a difficult one...but I've gotta go.
As soon she had applied the final brushstroke, she stepped back and swung her rucksack from the floor, dashing out of the door and leaving the other fellow art students staring after her in bewilderment.
I'm late, I'm late, I'm so late!
Ruby weaved and dodged between amble bystanders as she raced down the hallway, towards the building exit.
It was 12:38, and she had promised to meet her new friend Weiss outside the Art Department at 12:30. The heiress didn't seem like the patient type, and Ruby got the impression that Weiss wasn't used to waiting for anything anyway.
She skidded to a an abrupt halt panting at the doorway - directly in front of her white-haired friend. Weiss stood stiffly, her arms folded whilst she glanced down at the intricate silver watch adorning her wrist.
"You're late. I've wasted eight minutes of my lunch break waiting here."
Ruby groaned with a pout.
"Ugh, I know! But I can't just leave my first class of the year without finishing up my work, can I?" she retorted. Weiss huffed and inspected her nails.
"Well, as punishment for your poor punctuality...I want you to show me your work." Weiss said cooly, her sapphire eyes meeting with Ruby's.
Ruby froze; she hated people seeing her paintings.
Despite the fact that people often gave her great praise for her works, she always panicked whenever someone actually asked to observe her creations. Everybody interpreted art differently; Ruby always suffered from the paranoia that what she created may seem beautiful to her own eyes, but might appear disappointing to others.
"...Why?" she replied with narrowed eyes. Weiss placed her hands on her hips in response, stepping closer to Ruby.
"Given that you were in class eight minutes longer than the allotted time, I can only assume that you painted something which was rather demanding of all your talent. I'd like to see what you're capable of."
Ruby anxiously bit her lip; she could't think of a plausible excuse as to why she couldn't show Weiss her artwork.
Rats.
"...Fine. It's this way." Ruby said as she motioned for the older girl to follow her. Together, they took off down the bustling hallway. Meanwhile, Weiss couldn't help but notice Ruby's unusual gait - she trudged down the hall, as if marching towards detention. It was uncharacteristic, to say the least.
Gah! What am I DOING?! My painting is gonna be nothing to someone of Weiss's status!
Ruby's mind continued to race with ever-growing fears as they sauntered into the now empty classroom, where Ruby's painting still sat on the stand she had left it on when she had dashed out to meet Weiss.
"Well, there it is..." Ruby mumbled, half-heartedly pointing at the canvas. Weiss carefully approached, her hands behind her back as she absorbed the many fine details before her.
"What was the theme?"
Ruby perked her head up; it was surprising how quickly Weiss had deduced that the painting was based on a given theme.
"Oh. Uhm, we had to paint something from the past, re-imagined for the future. So..." Ruby trailed off, watching nervously as the heiress scrutinised the painting with an intense focus.
Please like it, please like it, pleeeasse...
Weiss couldn't deny it.
She was officially impressed.
Now she understood why Ruby had been moved up by two years - why she had been accepted into this prestigious institution with such ease.
Weiss scanned her eyes across the canvas. It was a simple concept, but the execution was...flawless.
A viking longship, painted in feathery whites and greys to appear ethereal, was depicted as drifting gracefully through the dark, spectacular void of deep space. It should have looked ridiculous, an absurd concept; but Ruby's realisation of the idea and her impeccable attention to detail had rendered it to look so right. Weiss couldn't help but feel somewhat smug that she had befriended such a unique artist - and a modest, unaware one at that. Ruby was more than a one in a million find...she was an impossibility.
This painting alone is more exquisite than most of the artwork in the Schnee Mansion, for God's sake. And Ruby made this in less than five hours.
Weiss quickly caught herself beaming, and promptly removed the smile from her face.
Hopefully Ruby didn't catch that.
"Ahem. Well, it is a very fine piece of work, Ruby. Well done indeed. What do you intend to do with it?"
Ruby blushed at the compliment, shrugging. "I...dunno. Put it in a plastic folder or something, I guess?"
She didn't show it, but Weiss was almost reeling from Ruby's response.
Put in a folder? In a plastic folder?!
Does she realise this painting could potentially sell for thousands?!
Taking a few moments to compose her voice, Weiss turned to Ruby with her typical neutral expression.
"If you would be interested, Ruby, I would quite like to purchase your work."
Ruby's jaw dropped.
"I- I, uh- w-what - D-did you say purchase? You w-want to buy my painting?!" she exclaimed with an expression which said it all. Weiss nodded confidently with a polite smile.
"Absolutely. Just name a price."
She wants to buy my painting. Weiss Schnee, one of the richest girls in the world...wants to buy MY painting.
Ruby's brain had turned into mush as she tried to process what was actually happening. Shaking her head, she tried to appear normal again.
"I, uhm, I mean - I mean if you want it, you can h-have it...y'know, like, without paying..."
Weiss took a step back, unprepared for that answer. She looked like she'd just seen a ghost. And quite frankly, Weiss had never been caught off guard in such a manner - not like this.
"You want me...to h-have your painting...for free?!"
"...Uh, yeah! Sure."
"Are...are you joking with me?"
"No, no! I'd totally be okay with you having it Weiss! It'd be, ah, r-really cool actually!"
The two girls still stared disbelievingly at each other, unsure what to saw or do. A tense silence hung between the both of them, as they struggled to find the appropriate words; a silence which was only broken when the heiress cleared her throat after several suspenseful seconds.
"W-well, that's...that's extremely generous of you, Ruby." Weiss spoke softly, attempting to re-establish her stoic posture and professional demeanor. "We still have over an hour and a half before either of us has classes. Why don't we head back to mine and hang it up properly?"
Ruby blushed once more.
"You...you really wanna hang my painting up in your place?" she said nervously, almost in a whisper. Weiss nodded with an ever-so-slight smirk that she couldn't restrain. "Okay then, sure!"
"Left a bit!"
Weiss sighed and shuffled her feet in the direction.
"Mmmm...too far. Go back right a little!"
"Ugh, you don't have to be that precise, Ruby!" The heiress groaned and moved slightly to the right, Ruby Rose sat upon her shoulders. "Just don't drop that hammer on me, okay?!"
"Okaaaaay." Ruby replied comically, as she lined up the hammer in her hand with the nail pinning her painting to the bleach white wall. "We didn't have to put the painting so high up on the wall, y'know..."
"It looks best there, that's why! It's about the feng shui of the room!" Weiss exclaimed, trying to shift the weight of Ruby on her shoulders.
"The feng whaaaaa?"
"Forget it, Ruby. Just hurry up and knock the nail in, I can't hold you forever!"
Ruby closed one eye and cautiously aimed the hammer. With a deft movement, she struck the head of the nail, and then again, and then more. Soon enough, after a solid minute of furious hammering, Ruby had fixed the painting onto the wall. With an enthusiastic leap backwards, she relieved Weiss of the pressure on her back.
"All done! Do you like it? Is it okay here? I mean, we kinda moved one of your proper paintings over for this..."
Weiss dismissed Ruby's worries with one wave of her hand, whilst her other hand tended to her aching back, as the two of them looked upwards to observe Ruby's artwork, now proudly presented high up in Weiss's residence.
"Hush now, Ruby. It looks lovely. And what in the world makes you think your painting isn't a 'proper painting'?"
Ruby smiled gratefully. "Thanks Weiss, I just...ah, never mind..."
Weiss crossed her arms and narrowed her focus onto the other girl. "Go on. I'm listening."
"Oh, uhm...it's just, I mean - I guess I just don't really see myself as a real artist yet..."
There was a brief lull in the conversation.
"Well...that's preposterous."
"Huh?"
Weiss rolled her eyes, her expression as stern and cold as ever. "Ruby, you're a remarkable artist, and I daresay a visionary beyond your age. I saw the artwork of your peers back in that classroom. You're already leagues ahead of your fellow students in both technical skill and breadth of imagination, and on top of that, you've barely even tapped into your potential yet. For you to stand there and discredit yourself so willingly is...well, it's just tragic for me or anyone else to watch."
Ruby was momentarily stunned. It was disguised as a lecture, but Weiss had just showered her in dazzling compliments and praise. And with that, she felt the rush of warmth spreading up through her cheeks.
Uh oh.
She turned away just in time to hide yet another tremendous blush, but silenced herself a moment too late, failing to stifle an embarrassed giggle.
She liked the painting! She really, actually liked it!
Blake Belladonna was sat comfortably on the sofa, legs tucked by her side, accompanied by a dusty, tattered monster of a book. The kind of book which could be judged by its cover...this was not a fictional work.
She rarely delved into textbooks and historical journals; Blake much preferred the immersion and creativity of a novel, the ability to escape into a world different from her own. But this particular book...had piqued her curiosity and stolen her attention. Now, she was in full investigative mode.
Clack.
The tell-tale sound of the apartment's front door opening snapped Blake out of her reading; she watched as the familiar face of Ruby approached down the hallway towards the kitchen where she sat.
It was half eleven in the evening. This was the second time Ruby had been out rather late - something which Blake found very uncharacteristic of this young and impressionable artist.
"You've been gone a long time. Classes finished for the day at five o'clock...did you make some friends, I presume?"
"Uhhh...well, I mean, same person as yesterday. We hung out at her place again." Ruby mumbled and began preparing herself a cup of hot chocolate. Blake's curiosity, however, had shifted temporarily onto the mystery friend.
"So who is this girl who you've hit it off with?"
"Oh, ah, it's...it's Weiss."
"Weiss? That rich girl we met yesterday?"
"Yeah. She's actually pretty cool once you give her a chance. She has private accommodation rented out, and a Mercedes, and she's also kinda the heiress to Schnee Pharmaceuticals."
Blake raised her eyebrows and looked up from her book. "Schnee Pharmaceuticals? That's-"
"-one of the wealthiest companies on the planet. I know, right?" Ruby said with a smirk. Blake, impressed with her knowledge, pressed on.
"Interesting...I was just reading an old journal about previous alumni of Beacon University. Some of the most powerful individuals in the world have graduated from here...including one Victor Schnee."
"Victor Schnee?" Ruby span on her heel and gave Blake an inquisitive look. "Is he...?"
"Without a doubt. Weiss's father, and therefore the current CEO of Schnee Pharmaceuticals. Naturally, he's an immensely wealthy man; apparently, he studied Biochemistry and Pharmacology during his time here. But...something's off..."
Ruby sat beside Blake and leant over to get a glimpse of the book's contents. "Off? Uhm...what do you mean by 'off', Blake?"
"Victor Schnee doesn't seem to have a graduation date. Almost as if it was edited out of the book just before publication or something. And not only that, just look at this short biography section about him." Blake tapped the page, drawing Ruby's attention to a surprisingly short paragraph. "Nothing about his research or personal work. Every other student catalogued in this book has some mention of their own endeavours or studies, but Victor's part looks like...well, as if the editor came in at the last minute and erased half of the paragraph."
The two girls were silent for a few minutes as they contemplated the implications of Victor Schnee's suspiciously brief coverage in the journal. Ruby was even more intruiged than Blake - principally because her newfound friend Weiss could, potentially, be involved in this, deliberately or not.
"...Food for thought, anyway." Blake quipped, and closed the book with a thud. She gracefully stood upright and slipped away towards her room. "I'll see you tomorrow morning, if you want to walk to campus with me?"
Ruby nodded with a polite smile. "Sure thing. Goodnight Blake!"
"Goodnight, Ruby."
And with that, Ruby was alone.
Something about what Blake had said was festering within her mind. Something about the discrepancies with Weiss's dad...the feeling that something just wasn't quite right lingered within her brain.
And at the pinnacle of it all, she couldn't help but think about his daughter. Ruby couldn't help but listen to her own intuition - and her intuition was telling her that somehow, Weiss might be in danger.
Thanks for reading. Watch out for some shorter one-shots I'll be posting between this chapter and the next.
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Until next time.