Hello! it's me again! Monika! (Weird static noises which appear to be spelling out 'Just Monika')
ugh, let's try that again shall we?
But for real, whassup people?! (Waiting for 'SolidSnake10101' to make another dad joke.) This chapter is 2.7K words (Excluding A/N)
Anyway, excuse the cringey A/N. I wanted to say that next episode will be a Bonus episode! Why you might ask? Because we have reached the tenth official chapter of the story! (Which is the double of what I originally planned)
So, I want you all beautiful sons of guns to send me PM's Containing ideas for a bonus chapter! The most creative and appealing one is the one I will pick. Good luck ^^
Special Thanks To "Merlin Pranks101" For beta-reading!
Lastly, I remind you of Ruby having a Lisp, but please do put in mind that this is the last chapter that she will actually have it in, since we are moving on with the story, starting from the next main chapter.
So without any more blabbering, I present to you the new chapter of Little Grimm Riding Hood, I hope you enjoy!
Little Grimm Riding Hood.
Chapter 10: A Grimmling And Its Mentor.
"Again Ruby." Were the words Ruby heard time after time, she started to not only dread them but to expect them, Because no matter how flawless her technique was, no matter how focused she was, and no matter how many times she repeated the same sequence, Salem just wouldn't let her rest.
"Do I have to? I've been doing this for soooo loooong." Ruby complained, even though she was used to the training, this time was definitely the hardest she ever trained, she wasn't sure if she was doing something wrong.
"Ruby. Again." Salem ordered, she then watched as the child sighed before continuing her training. Salem herself wasn't quite sure if she was doing this because she wants Ruby to train, or because she was unconsciously still angry at Ruby.
Ruby closed her eyes and started concentrating, waiting for Salem to start the sequence that she had already repeated well over five times already. "Are you ready Ruby?" The woman asked, Ruby replied with a nod as she concentrated all of her power on her right eye.
Salem raised her hand, and with a snap of her fingers a Grimm was summoned to Ruby's right. She made sure to command the grimm to be unhostile towards Ruby, she then watched as Ruby turned to face the monster, "It's right here!" Ruby yelled as she opened her eyes, she was instantly met with a beowulf, a beowulf that she found really cute and fluffy.
"Boop! hahaha." she said as she gently poked it's nose, But with another snap of salem's fingers, the creature of grimm turned around and ran towards the vast forest, leaving Ruby slightly disappointed that the wolf did not even bother to have any interaction with her.
"Good work child." Salem told the toddler, and much to Ruby's pleasure, this was the first time Salem didn't immediately tell her to prepare for more training. Was this finally the end of the training?Can she finally res- "Again Ruby."
of course not...
...
Salem was quite satisfied with the progress that Ruby seemed to be making, even for a newly started trainee, Ruby was making a considerable number of improvements to her powers, she can easily detect Grimm if she focused her powers on her right eye. "That's enough for today Ruby." She said, much to Ruby's relief.
Sadly for little Ruby though, she wasn't as enthusiastic as she normally was, simply because of how exhausted she was. "ok..." She said as she walked towards Salem.
Salem herself always enjoyed walking in the woods, no matter how short the walk was. It was something she could always appreciate, but now, for some reason, she just couldn't. She herself did not know why, but there was the vague feeling of guilt filling her heart, and that was a feeling she rarely ever felt in her life. She soon looked by her side to see young Ruby walking next to her, exhaustion clear in her eyes. "Is something wrong Ruby?" She asked, hoping to know if Ruby is somehow related to her current mood.
"No...nothing is wrong." Ruby replied, not sounding convincing at all, It was clear to Salem that there were things that the girl was holding back, but Salem decided to go against her own will and left Ruby to think without asking her further questions, so they both kept on their way, not uttering any word.
Salem did not notice that Ruby opened her mouth as if she was about to say something, it took Ruby a couple of minutes to finally decide what she wanted to say.
"Salem...Are you still mad at me?" Was the unexpected question Ruby asked. Salem dreaded such a question, simply because she herself did not know the answer to it. But Ruby herself did not stop there. "I just wanted to do something new Salem, it was my birthday and no one cared." Ruby added hesitantly.
Salem kept her silence for a while, thinking carefully of what to say, not only because she was afraid to hurt the child's feelings further, But also because she Herself was unsure of the true and honest answer for the question.
After carefully thinking of her answer, Salem came to a conclusion, the conclusion that yes, she is still mad and disappointed from Ruby's actions,and she was about to tell her the truth, no matter how much it hurts for the little girl. She deserved it.
"Ruby...No I'm not mad at you."
Wait! that's not it! Why did I say that?! Salem thought to herself in shock, Why in the name of gods did she not say the truth?! Sadly for her, she immediately noticed how Ruby smiled brightly at her with the smile that no one from their group can ever resist admiring. Even Tyrian could sometimes think that Ruby is cute when she smiled.
"Really?!" The toddler asked with excitement. Salem couldn't bring herself to change her answer after seeing the adorable reaction Ruby had, Even the most horrible of beings couldn't possibly dare to sadden Ruby, she had a certain talent for making everything better just by being happy self. "Y-yes Ruby, I'm not mad anymore."
Salem was suddenly forced to a stop as her legs were held in place by little Ruby giving her a hug. "Thank you salem!" The toddler said as she gave Salem a tight hug.
The rest of their way was mainly quiet, except for the sound of Ruby's feet hitting the ground as she skipped in excitement, happy that her mentor and motherly figure had forgiven her. Clearly now she had all the reasons to be her happy and cheerful self, instead of being a bit silent and gloomy like she was the past few days.
...
Salem was quite content with how her day went so far. She made considerable progress with Ruby, she had the whole castle to herself as all of team WTCH was out on assignments, she only had to dress Ruby and put her to sleep, which proved to be easier than what she anticipated.
She had a lot of time left of the night, so she decided to use it all to get some precious sleep, which proved to be one of Salem's few hobbies, other than killing all living creatures that is.
After changing her clothes from her favorite nightgown into a purple Robe, she laid down on the bed, putting her head on the soft pillow and covering her legs with her soft blanket. She was finally ready for the pleasure of a good sleep.
*knock knock*
Salem's eyes snapped open by the sound of knocking on her door. "What do you want Ruby?" She said, her voice just loud enough for Ruby to hear. "I want to come in." Ruby answered. Salem sighed before answering. "Fine, come in."
Ruby turned the door handle and slowly pushed the door open, she was met by Salem sitting on her bed, looking straight at her. "What do you want, Child?" Salem asked, as if she doesn't already know what's about to happen.
"I- I can't sleep." Ruby hesitated. Salem motioned for her to come closer, which is exactly what she did.
"And what do you expect me to do Ruby?". Much to Salem's luck, It was still early in the night, which meant that even if she had to deal with Ruby for a little while longer, she would still get a nice amount of sleep.
"C-Can I...Can we, maybe we ca-" "Spill it out already child." Salem interrupted, Ruby then took a deep breath before speaking out. "Can I sleep next to you!"
What on earth did she just ask? Salem thought to herself. "Ruby, can you say that again?" She ordered, and soon enough Ruby spoke out again. "Can I please sleep next to you, I'm scared!"
Salem couldn't even start to say how much she hated the request Ruby had just made, The answer is definitely no, no and no again. "What in the name of dust are you afraid of? There's no one here except for the two of us."
Ruby kept swaying nervously in place, trying to think of how to convince the Grimm goddess to approve of her wish. She was truly scared as there was no one in the castle except for the two of them, and the fact that their rooms are very far apart didn't help either, she simply felt unsafe because no one was close enough to make her feel the other way around.
"That's why I'm scared, I want to be close to someone while I sleep, or else I have bad dreams." Ruby pleaded her case.
Salem sighed, how is she going to deal with this now? "Ruby, you can't sleep, right?" She asked, Ruby replied with a nod. "Are you absolutely certain, Ruby?" She asked again, just to make sure. Ruby replied with another vigorous nod. "Fine then, you can sleep on the floor next to me." Salem offered.
"B-but I can't sleep on the floor Salem, it's hard and it would annoy me!" Ruby explained. Salem herself was shocked, how does this girl have the audacity to reject such a generous offer? She would have normally killed any being that would dare to request of her such a thing, but now not only did she approve of the request, the girl was also not happy with the result!
"And what on Remnant am I supposed to do then?!" Salem was starting to lose her patience, Ruby or not doesn't matter, she wouldn't ever let this child get the better of her!
Or so she thought...
...
"Goodnight ,Salem!" Ruby said enthusiastically as she covered herself with her own small blanket she had brought from her room. "Goodnight..." Salem replied as she rested her head on her pillow, prepared to make the most out of her sleep, even if someone somehow managed to convince her to sleep in the same bed, that someone being Ruby of course.
She soon started to finally drift to sleep, not thinking about anything, she was ready to just rest... "Salem..."
Goddamnit... She thought to herself as her eyes snapped open, revealing that Ruby was staring at her. "What do you want child?" She asked, annoyed. "Can you tell me a story?"
What on Remnant is this girl up to? How can she dare to ask such things from the Grimm queen herself?! Salem thought as she sighed. "Fine, there was a small Grimm that got big and ate humans, end of story, goodnight." She tried her best to sum up her already short story before quickly trying to go back to sleep.
"Bahaha, that's horrible!" Ruby was never going to be satisfied with such a short and bold story. "Salem, pleaaaase can you tell me a longer story." Ruby begged.
Salem's eyes started twitching madly. She sighed as she silently got up from her own bed, moving towards her nightstand and opening a drawer, soon enough she pulled a purple and black colored book before closing the drawer again, she then made her way back to the bed and sat down next to Ruby. "Listen Ruby, If I'm going to tell you a story then it will be a real one that happened in history, and you probably won't like the ending." Salem clarified.
"It's okay! I still want to hear it." Ruby replied as she scooched closer to Salem. Salem herself then opened the book and started reading the story that she wrote herself.
"Once upon a time, before dust or even the relics of powers were bestowed upon Remnant, there was the Grimm and only the Grimm, no man nor woman stepped foot on Remnant, until the two holy gods finally came to a conclusion, a conclusion to bring their powers together for one final creation, that creation was what you now call, humans."
"Do you mean like me?" Ruby wondered, Salem nodded before motioning with her hand for Ruby to stop talking.
"As you know now, Grimm were the original beings that occupied this world, and they had no problem sharing this world with humans, as long as they were prepared for their emotions to be used as energy for the Grimm, and to not try to overtake their place as the superior being "
"So they didn't fight humans for no reason like they are doing now?" Ruby asked again, Salem was surprised to be asked such question from a mere toddler.
"No Ruby, they only fought if they needed to in past times, Now let's continue." She said as she watched the toddler paying full attention to every small detail that escaped her lips.
"The humans on the other hand weren't content with living the harsh survival life like how every creature is supposed to. But they couldn't ever do anything about the superior Grimm, until the discovery of arguably the most important resource mankind has ever seen, dust."
"And then what happened?" Ruby question, so immersed in the story that the worry on her face was clearly visible.
"And then it all started, the humans wanted to clear out enough space so they can start their own societies, so they used their newly found weapon to push the grimm back, thinking that it was an act that the creatures of grimm will take lightly, but they were wrong, as the Grimm developed a natural instinct to attack humans on sight, resulting in the fights and massacres that happen nearly everyday now."
Ruby's eyes widened with fear as she thought of what Salem was referring to. "But it was just a misunderstanding!" Ruby claimed.
Salem was taken by surprise from the girl's claim. "What do you mean Ruby?" She asked.
"I mean that the humans just wanted more space so they could feel safe! And the Grimm thought they wanted to destroy them all, It was all just a misunderstanding, can't they just make up and stop fighting?!" Was Ruby's clear opinion on the matter.
Salem had no idea of how to reply to the girl's hopeful thoughts, but sadly she seemed like she could never have her way in a world like this, and especially on a topic like this one, she was simply far too innocent for such a cruel world. "I'm sorry Ruby, but no they can't...Grimm will never stop fighting humans from now on, it's in their nature now."
"But can't they just change?" Ruby wondered, tiredness clearly starting t take a hold of her as she yawned.
"No Ruby, there is no way this will stop, I'm sorry." Salem said, apologizing as if she was somehow involved in the matter, she had no idea how Ruby could make her go as far as apologizing, especially for something she had nothing to do with, this young girl was truly remarkable.
Salem got off of her bed, moving back to her nightstand to store her book back in its place. And once she did that, she expected to turn around to see the young toddler ready to ask more questions, yet when she did turn around, she only saw Ruby collapsed on the bed, drooling and in deep sleep.
A smile forced it's way to Salem's mouth as she moved closer to cover up the girl with her small blanket that was knitted by Hazel himself. And after she finished that, she soon found herself collapsed and tired on her own side of the bed, finally ready to get a good night's sleep.
Aaand done! I hope you enjoyed this! writing 2 Chapters in 2 days is always a challenging thing to do, but thankfully I got it this time!
Nothing much to say here except for reminding you that you have a chance to get your own bonus episode! just send me a suggestion on what you want the chapter to be about, and If I like it more than the other suggestions then I'll choose it, the only condition is that what you send has to be related to the world of 'Little Grimm Riding Hood'
By the way, I'll use some of my free time to actually go back and fix any grammar mistakes I made in the previous chapters, so if you get a lot of update notifications I apologize in advance.
Critique is welcome and Reviews are much appreciated! Have a good day.
Much Love! Stay Positive! MG Out!