"She took a step and didn't want to take any more, but she did."
― Markus Zusak, The Book Thief
Chapter 10-
The next morning, she was awoken by the smell of food and idle chatter coming from outside. Getting out of the bed, Blake just wore her underwear and a large shirt for sleepwear.
Leaving the room, she spotted Ruby cooking in the kitchen while Amber sat at the island and watched. The two engaging in idle chit-chat about the fight the night before.
"So Weiss managed to put two glyphs over your pistols so you could freeze the Paladin in place? Isn't it supposed to be one of the best things out there? And yet it was beaten by three Huntresses in training and you?" Amber asked in disbelief.
"She did, she's doing really good now but she kept it up really well. And yeah, serious design flaw there. Might talk to some people and ask about getting the designs for them and having a look." Ruby said.
Blake quietly walked into the kitchen and was standing by the island as the words slipped from her mouth, "Who are you?" Both women turned and looked at her quickly, causing her to blush and stutter out an apology.
"It's alright. You deserve some sort of answer about last night. Claire Church, is an alias. One of many that I have. The hair and eyes are all dye and just a simple matter of cutting some hair and an outfit change and there you go, new person." Ruby said.
"My real name is Summer Ruby Rose, Summer Maiden, Huntress and immortal. That's about it right?" Ruby asked Amber playfully.
"I think you cover all the bases there. Oh and Corvus wants a chat while you're here." Amber added.
"I'll speak to him before I go." Ruby threw back, as she carried on cooking breakfast to hide her smirk at Blake's open mouthed look.
"Why don't you take a seat? We'll explain everything over breakfast." Amber gently suggested, putting coffee on the table for her.
Blake, not completely sure how to take it all just sat down. Seeing how Ruby was completely different to how she was the night before.
Ruby placed the food in front of the two women, and laid her plate in front of her. "Where do you want to start?" Ruby asked.
"How about the beginning?" Blake said, unable to keep the sarcasm out of her voice.
"It's a little complicated, there are two beginnings. The very beginning, or the beginning of the current events." Ruby said awkwardly.
"The very beginning." Blake said without hesitation.
Ruby just sighed, "I ask that you keep an open mind, and maybe keep the questions to the end?" Ruby said/asked, unsure how she was going to explain this.
"Ok." Blake said, dragging the word out, unsure.
"To start at the beginning. I'm old, really old. I don't remember my birth, or really anything of my early life except that I travelled a lot, every place I stayed I would be there for a day, two max before a Grimm attack, I was seen as a bad omen because of my mark. So I travelled. Around the age of, I guess it'd be ten years old I met two people. A boy and a girl, the same age as I was. We discovered something interesting when we met. We could all fight, we came across some Grimm that attacked us. Scared, we didn't know what to do but when they hit us, they didn't. They hit a barrier of some sorts." Ruby explained.
"We discovered Aura, how it protected us from attacks. So we made a decision together. We would fight against the Grimm, we forged our own weapons. The two of them stuck with a single weapon each, I was a little more creative. I created multiply weapons, a weapon called Crescent Rose was my first, and favoured weapon but I also crafted the shield and sword I use today."
"So we travelled, village to village defeating Grimm but we never came close to making a dent in their numbers, or allowing humanity to grow again. Until a woman going only by the name Schnee made a discovery." Ruby said, smiling at the memory. Their food, all but forgotten.
"She discovered Dust. Over the couple years we travelled to fight Grimm, we found others like us, we trained and helped them to defend their home villages but when Dust was discovered, it was a game changer. It gave us that edge, she made it available to us for free. Telling us to rid the world of Grimm. It wasn't something we did but we pushed them back enough for humanity to expand. Build cities, spread out. It was the first real hope we had." Ruby said.
"It wasn't until I reached the age of twenty-one that we noticed something. Or rather a couple years later. I stopped aging. People around me grew up, grew old. But I didn't. Already I had life threatening wounds in fighting and they'd heal within minutes, whereas other people did not. It was later on that we discovered the full meaning behind it. But there's a lot more to go."
"As humanity expanded and built up, the Grimm were still around and people needed to be defended or defend others. So the militaries were created slowly as the kingdoms formed each had their own military, but they only fought for their own kingdom. Schnee had started to mine Dust and more, for those using Dust privately and the militaries needed to pay for it, however me and my two friends did not. Nor any others that fought with Aura to protect their villages and home towns."
The two women sat there, listening with rapt attention as neither thought on their food as they saw Ruby getting lost in her memories, smiling sadly at the memories.
"We decided that people with Aura could learn to fight, and fight better than the military against Grimm and they would have no boundaries. The only goal would be to help and protect people in need. We started the four main Hunter and Huntress schools in each of the four kingdoms. Alongside a number of minor ones that would act as gateways into the main four. The statue you see at all the schools; the cloak represents myself. I didn't want to have myself made into stone, but they did." Ruby explained, pausing for a moment to take a drink of her coffee.
"After that, the years went by. We trained up new Hunters and Huntresses, everyone referred to the three of us as Shadows, never understood why. But as the years moved on, my two friends slowly grew old and died. Our first students slowly taking over the teaching at the schools, passing on our teachings to new students and so on until this day where they still teach the same lessons." Ruby said, smiling as she remembered back to the lessons she had started teaching and then at Beacon today.
"I became more reclusive as the years went on, still teaching but eventually I started to become different people, just to avoid the question of how I was still alive. In the end I vanished, dead to everyone but was still alive, just travelling around. Somehow after a number of years after this, maybe two hundred years I came across three women. We ended up travelling together and somehow became close, like sisters. Travelling for a few years together we slowly ran into an old man, the one you saw earlier."
"It was strange, I'd become softer with them, it was nice. We slowly welcomed the old man, I even got him to come outside and we showed him such kindness and helped him with a large number of things that he actually granted us power. From here he discovered I was immortal. Similar to him almost, but he granted us the Maiden's power. The one the stories say about, but he had a mission for me."
"He asked me to watch over the Maiden's, protect them but also protect the power and people from the power in case something happened. Once more I watched the people close to me age and die but helping people until their death. From there I travelled again, set up a network of helpers and people to trust. Information passed down through families who kept their ancestors oath to me. The man Amber mentioned, Corvus is just one of many." Ruby finished off.
"Currently my role as Claire Church is because he wanted me to attend Beacon and stop what was to come, or be in a position to stop it. He gave me a clue as to what is going to happen, and I beg the Fates that it isn't true but it's gotten worse. He told me the Winter Maiden is in a coma, attacked." Ruby said, turning to look at Amber and seeing her shock.
"The same person that attacked you, hit her, my people were unable to protect her, I apologise but we may have to move you or perhaps you'll join me at Beacon. I am not completely sure yet." Ruby informed her.
"I understand." Amber replied.
"I'll ask that you think up a look and outfit and stuff for your identity and I'll get the process in motion." Ruby answered back. Then turning to Blake she said, "So any questions?" Ruby asked, as if this was normal.
"Um yeah. How…how are you immortal? How have you been alive for so long? What's that mark? You started the schools? The Maiden story is true? But how? It's a myth." Blake said rapidly.
"Accelerated cellular regeneration. Don't know how I got it, but just did. Same answer as before. Called a Soul Mark. Yes, I did with my two friends, we started them to fight against the Grimm. Yes, it is, all myths have an origin and this one is true. However, the version you know is wrong. In that version it says only three Maiden's existed, but in fact there was a forth. Thought to have died and the power never passed on. But I didn't die so the power didn't pass on. Only the Maiden's and a select few people knew the truth." Ruby explained.
"Ok…say that I believe you. How do I know you're telling the truth and not just messing with me?" Blake asked.
Ruby just removed her pistol from its holster and handed it over to Blake, but handle first, "Shoot me." Ruby said bluntly.
"What?! I'm not going to shoot you." Blake exclaimed.
Ruby just sighed and instead turned the gun on herself, removing her clothes so she wouldn't break them and shot her shoulder.
Both Amber and Blake cried out, shocked at what Ruby had done. Both of them rushed to her side to try and help her but were stopped.
"Just watch, trust me." Ruby said, not even in pain.
So both women watched as slowly the wound stitched itself back together until finally there was no sign of the bullet hole at all.
"What the…How the hell?" Blake said.
"Extremely quick cellular regeneration. Basically immortal and it'll be pretty hard to kill me. Do you believe me now?" Ruby asked.
"I…it's a lot to take in. But what about the powers and this so called soul mark?" Blake asked in return.
"The soul mark is harder to explain; I don't truly know it's nature. But basically I have a soul mate, someone who corresponds with the mark and yeah. That's all I can tell you for the moment. As for the powers. There are four Maiden's, Winter, Spring, Fall, and Summer. I am the Summer Maiden and Amber is the Fall Maiden. I know the identities of the other two, but I will keep them to myself for the moment." Ruby said.
"Ok. I believe you, this doesn't seem like something you'd lie about. Especially after that display. But what about Neo? She was working with Roman." Blake asked.
"The old man, he asked Neo to join Roman. Something about Fate and how she was supposed to be with them. There's nothing I can do about it, I just simply have to let things happen as they happen, I can't do anything but react." Ruby replied.
"Aren't you worried that she'll turn? Stay working with Roman?" Blake asked.
"No. I'm not concerned. Why don't you go get ready? We need to return to Beacon soon, I believe we are discovering our assignment for a mission today." Ruby said, using that as a dismissal, "Oh and when we return, it's Claire." Ruby added.
Once Blake had left Ruby turned to Amber, "You knew. I'm sure both of you were here when he came and spoke to you both. Why didn't you tell me?" Ruby asked.
"He told us not to, sworn us to secrecy to keep this hidden from you. He said that it needed to play out as normal, it had already been changed with you saving me. Now with Winter, it's balancing out. Returning to its original state." Amber answered.
"Ok." Ruby said, standing up as she made to go get ready herself.
"Ok? That's it? No anger? Shouting? Anything?" Amber asked, standing up in shock.
"There would be no point. I understand why he did it, although I don't agree with it. I can't change the past, no matter how hard I want to try. So instead I will carry on, adapt and survive what is to come. He gave me a warning before passing and I'd be a fool to not listen to it." Ruby answered.
"Oh I see. So what do we do now? Neo is working on the inside, but what am I supposed to do?" Amber asked, unsure as now she was stuck here alone. It was alright when Neo was with her, but now Neo was off doing something important, and so was Ruby. She was left here all alone, again.
"By the start of the tournament you will be in school with me, pretending to be a student. We're going to discover what is really going on and I can keep you safe with Velvet." Ruby answered, and left the room.
Before leaving she spoke briefly with Corvus, telling him the plan and also informing him of a mission she would have for him soon. Alongside a promise to seen the designs and brief to him shortly.
A/N
So this is the second of the chapter of the double update, so if you haven't read chapter nine then go and do that now.
With that sorted, I gave you a lot of back story in this chapter. It's not that fleshed out because it's sort of a basic overview for Blake's benefit there, and next up will be one of my favourite episodes. Mount Glenn.
Not much to actually talk about, so until next time.
Quick edit, i need some help IDing some clothes that a character wears in a show, it's Pina Co Lada from Gate. If someone's able to help, that would be fucking amazing. PM me if you can help. Please and thank you. Also really fucking late edit here.