Many Years Ago
It was only around mid day and yet the sky seemed dark as night. Snow covered the land and ice on the waters for what seemed like miles and miles. A large snow storm was coming. A little girl, only five years old stood at her bedroom window watching the white fly through the air and cover the window. She stood there waiting, waiting patiently for her mother to return. She stood there at the window watching the pathway of trees that her mother disappeared through.
I'll only be gone for a few weeks. Two weeks tops. I promise.
Those two weeks had already passed yesterday, and she still hadn't returned. But she will. Soon. She promised after all.
The strong winds pushed the door wide as the guest walked into the house. Taiyang rushed to shut the door to keep from anymore snow to blow in. He slammed the door shut and then blocked it with the the chair. The strong gusts of wind could blow the door open again. Just then the little blond girl ran from the kitchen toward their visitor, nearly tackling him down and nearly dropping his luggage.
"Uncle Qrow!" Yang shouted at him while clutching his waist.
"Hey there fire cracker. How have you been?" He greeted his little niece.
"I killed my first Nevermore. You should've seen it, it was like boom, boom, and then splat." She said with such enthusiasm.
"Wow. Thats some good work. Always looking out for your sister aren't you." He said.
Yang smiled and then ran to the kitchen where Zwei and a plate of cookies was waiting for her. Taiyang helped Qrow with his luggage setting it down in the living room. "It was just a bird, not a Nevermore. We appreciate you staying for the week."
"Yeah, its not a problem." He said and then took a swig from his flask. He seemed distressed about something. Taiyang wasn't sure but he could tell Qrow was a bit off. More so then usual.
"You feeling okay Qrow?" He asked.
Qrow took another long swig before passing it to Taiyang. "Yeah. I'm fine. Its just, something happened."
Yang was walking out of the kitchen when she heard them. Zwei was walking out with the trey of cookies on his head and Yang was close behind when she heard them talk. Talk about Summer. And how she wasn't coming back from her mission. She saw her dad take a drink from Uncle Qrows special flask. The one he told them never to touch. He took a long drink. He never drank. Why was he drinking, and why wasn't Summer coming back. That couldn't be true.
"They said she fought bravely." Uncle Qrow said. Confirming her beliefs. She really was gone.
She stood there frozen in place. She just couldn't believe that Summer was gone. She couldn't bear to imagine how Ruby would've felt. Her mom was dead. She walked away feeling like she just had her heart break in half.
Ruby was still there in their room, still standing by the window. Watching. Waiting. Waiting for her mom to come back. Zwei waddled over to her with the plate of warm cookies on his head. She took one and started eating it. "Thank you Zwei." She said to her magical dog and stared out the window, watching the snow fly by.
Yang slowly approached her little sister trying to find the right words to say. She couldn't find any. Her mom was dead, what was there to say. "Ru, Ruby?"
"Look at the snow." She said. "Do you think the gwimm play in the snow?" She was too precious for this world. She just stood there nibbling on the cookie. She loved cookies, especially the way Summer made them. She couldn't wait for her to come back and make more.
"Ruby?"
"When do you think mommy will be back?" She asked. Yangs heart shattered a second time.
"Uncle Qrows here."
Ruby whipped around with such excitement. She hopped off the seat and ran out the room towards the living room. After running through the hall she spotted her uncle and darted towards him. She leapt and wrapped him in her little arms. "Uncle Qwow!" She shouted with glee. "Uncle Qwow!"
Qrow looked down to see the little one already twirling herself in his cloak. "Hey there Ruby. How are you doing?" He said and then knelt down to hug her. He brought her in his arms, his heart filled with pain in remorse. He had to tell her.
"Look uncle Qwow." She said and then pulled out a small sheet of paper. A little drawing of all of them. Taiyang, Yang, Zwei, herself, Summer and then him. "I made this for mommy." Qrow stared at the little drawing. His heart slowly sinking in. "Do you think she'll like it?"
Qrow only gave a half smile. He folded the drawing and slid it back into her pocket. "She would have loved it." He said, but Ruby noticed what he said. 'She WOULD HAVE'. What was that supposed to mean. Qrow took her little hands, staring her in her little silver eyes. "Listen Ruby. I have to tell you something."
"Qrow no..."
"She has to know Tai!" Qrow snapped and then turned back to Ruby, her silver eyes once filled with joy, now filled with fear.
"Uncle Qwow, why are yelling? I'm scared."
Qrow gave a large breath, and then turned back to her eyes. His own on the brink of crying. "Ruby I'm sorry, but your mom... she's not coming back."
Right there he saw something snap. Something break, shatter. Her little eyes welled up ready to burst and cry. He could almost hear her heart crash. "Uncle Qwow why do you say that. Mommys coming back soon. She said so." She said her voice broken. Denying the truth. "She pwomised."
"I'm sorry Ruby but she's not coming back. She's gone."
She pulled away from his hands not wanting to believe it. He was lying. Why would he lie about her mom? Why was he scaring her? "But, but mommy pwomised."
"I'm sorry Ruby.."
"SHE PWOMISED!" She shouted in his face and then tore herself away from him and ran back to her room slamming the door shut.
The room fell silent from the outrage. Qrow remained still, stareing at his hands where Ruby's little hands once were. No one spoke. No one had ever seen Ruby scream like that. Especially not at Qrow. Yang slowly walked toward their room. The door was locked. She knocked on the door but there was no answer. All she wanted to do was make her feel better. Taiyang looked at Qrow with anger. He should've listened to him, and now Ruby was breaking down in tears.
"You shouldn't have told her Qrow. You broke her heart." He said.
Qrow couldn't even face him. The horrified look on Ruby's face burned in to his mind. He had never seen her so hurt. So broken. "Don't you think I know that Taiyang!"
"Then why did you tell..."
"What would you have done? When she started asking about Summer, why isn't she home, where is she, when is she coming back. What would you have said?" Qrow nearly shouted. Despite his hating himself for what he did, he knew he was right. It would only be a matter of time till she started asking and asking and asking until ultimately he would've had to tell her the truth. She would've hated him for keeping this from her.
There was a sudden draft of cold air blowing through the house. Yang came back into the living room covering herself in her blanket. "She's not coming out dad." She said and shivered a little from the cold. "It's getting really cold."
The heater was full on high, and the fire was roaring, and yet she was right. It was pretty cold. Qrow grabbed some extra blankets and walked towards the girls room. "Hey Ruby. Its me. I brought some extra blankets if you need them." There was no response. He knocked on the door and still nothing. He could feel the carpet squish under his foot. Under the door the carpet was wet and cold. The draft was coming from the room. He grabbed the door knob but it was locked. He took a step back and kicked the door open. The room was empty. The window was wide open blowing in snow and Ruby was gone. He ran to the window, seeing the path Ruby had ran through the snow. "RUBY!" he shouted. "RUBY!"
Taiyang and Yang both bolted to the room. Yang cried out seeing that Ruby was gone. After Qrow told them they all got ready and ran outside looking for her. They searched through woods past the trees, fighting through the snow. "RUBY!" They shouted. "RUBY!" Again they shouted but again there was no response. Nothing. The path made by Ruby when she ran was slowly disappearing from view. They ran deeper into the woods.
Qrow with his scythe started slashing down the trees and make a path through the snow. The storm was raging even more, worsening by the second. The were running around blinded by the harsh winter, all they could see was white. "RUBY!" The cried out in panic. "RUBY!" Still no response. She couldn't have gone that far with her little legs but the intense winds and snow were slowing down even them. The cold hit them like knives through their skin. They could feel their fingers grow numb, there arms freezing, restricting their movement.
"RUBY!" They cried out again, but there was no reply. The deafening winds they couldn't even hear their own voices. They grasped the stone to climb over a ridge and their skin nearly froze. The ice cold stone sent a pained shock through their fingers, but they climbed up. She wasn't up here. Qrow slammed his hand into the rock, and it felt like it shattered. But not as his heart was. Ruby was out here in this frozen hell because of him.
"WE HAVE TO GO BACK!" Taiyang shouted. With the storm raging worse and worse they needed to head back home, or else getting trapped in the storm.
"WE CAN'T JUST LEAVE HER OUT HERE!"
"QROW THE STORM!" Taiyang grasped his shoulder. Yang was drapped with coat over coat over coat and she was stilling freezing and clutching onto her dad. They couldn't do anything for Ruby if they got caught in the storm. "We have to go back!"
He didn't want to run. He couldn't. Ruby was out there in this. Probably half buried in snow, trying to dig herself out. Taiyang had to force him through the snow to get back to the house. They sat down by the fire and swore that once the snow had slowed down, they would go out again.
Hours passed. Hours and hours more passed. Time traveled at a speed that seemed like an eternity. Qrow fought off the exhaustion with every ounce of strength he had. The pain he felt, the look on Rubys face, the idea that he would never see Summer again, but most of all, the look on Ruby's face when he told her that her mom wan't coming back. He shed a single tear, everything he loved was falling apart. And now Ruby was out there in the cold. The sorrow swallowing him whole until he fell asleep.
The quiet sobs from near by shook Qrow awake. He looked around hearing the deathly sobs, so quiet, so far, yet so near. Yang and Taiyang were still asleep. He shot up to his feet, listening. There were the quiet sobs again, through the raging storm was the sobs, coming from the outside. He ran to the door, blowing in more snow, but there on the floor was something on the floor swaddled up to keep from the cold. The source of the sobs. It was Ruby. Nearly frozen in the cold.
After bringing her in Qrow sat her down in front of the fire place and covering her in his cloak. Her eyes seemed nearly frozen shut. Icicles around her eyelids from crying. He sat there with her holding her closely like he was afraid she would run away again. Her skin was as white and as cold as the snow and was nearly buried in. She didn't speak. Or eat any cookies or hot soup that Yang tried to feed her. She just sat there in her uncles arms. Letting the fire wash over, and melt away the pain.
As Ruby lied in the hospital bed, she remembered that night. The steady beep, its rhythm pulsing through her mind, digging up the pain she buried along with herself. Ruby Rose died that night in the storm. Buried deep in the snow, her last thoughts being of her sister, her father, and her uncle. And how she wanted them to pay. Everything they had done to her, all the lies they've said, she wanted them to suffer.
The pain and sorrow washing over her when she was little, like nails digging through her skin trying to escape. They lied. They all lied to her. Yang, her dad, Uncle Qrow! All of those bastards who claimed to love her. They all needed to pay. They would.
Ruby Rose died that night. What was found on their door step and brought in to the warm embrace of Qrow, Yang and Taiyang was something else. Ruby-then was warm, loving, Ruby-now was smarter, and as cold as her heart, like the snow she buried the old Ruby in. Once she woke up, she would seek them out, just like all the other before, they were only strokes of paint, in her grand design.
She could feel the nails pulling at her, tearing away at her skin. She pulled away but they stuck on, the pain surging through the her body, but she kept pulling. She forced herself, tearing away, letting the nails tear flesh and bone. The rhythmic beeping of the monitored stopped, leaving a an echoing flatline. The nails tore through flesh and they broke free.
"Ruby?" She heard from behind. Her eyes slowly beaded open seeing the dark hallways of the dormitories. She turned around and came to the sight of a rabbit faunas. "Are you okay Ruby? It, its me, Velvet. I thought you were in the hospital."