And more

Chapter 56:

Smiling as she got comfortable, Ruby just simply began to slide down in her seat. She just wanted to go to bed and curl up into a ball. She knew that she was probably going to go a bit crazy, but she was just happy she could hear the door opening.

"Ruby? You in here? Why is it so dark?" Ruby could hear the matriarch of her family ask as she just started to perk up.

"Don't turn on the light Grandma. My eyes are still super sensitive to light. Even with the bandages off. Uncle Watts' friend said they would be for a few more days to weeks." Ruby said in a soft tone as she could see her grandmother just taking a seat on the couch next to her. "You feeling alright Grandma? The last few days you've seemed out of it and this I suppose is the first time we've been alone." Ruby said as she just looked at the normally stern woman. "At least the first time we've been alone that I know for a fact we've been." Ruby said softly as she could see the woman just sighing gently as she pulled Ruby into a gentle hug.

"I've been fine Ruby. Just... there has been a lot of emotions recently. Mostly because I found the man I've been looking so hard for. For nearly five decades." Salem said as Ruby just hugged her tighter.

"I hope you made him pay for breaking your heart." Ruby whispered as Salem just smiled gently down at her.

"Not as much as I had constantly planned in my head for all those years." Salem spoke as she just took a deep breath and began to rub Ruby's back. "I wanted to so bad... even after what he did to me... I couldn't. I couldn't let you think of me like that. Even if you say you'd be fine with it... and even if you knew the full story because there is a lot more than him just leaving me. I'm not that fragile."

Taking a deep breath Ruby just held on tighter to Salem. "He deserves to be in pain though." Ruby countered as Salem just smiled at her and held onto her.

"I thought so to... but when I saw his face again... I was reminded of both why I wanted him hunted down so bad... and why he had a portion of my heart and I could see my children in his face." Salem said as Ruby just smiled.

"I don't think Mom would have thought different of you." Ruby said as Salem just chuckled a bit at the comment.

"No... I mean before them. Something they don't even know about." Salem said with a chuckle that Ruby just knew was hollow by the sounds of it. "I had four of the most beautiful girls... quadruplets. And when that man left me... he took them from me and he left me nothing but a note that said he was taking them from me because I was admittedly a little bit of an alcoholic that tended to get angry and lash out at the servants." Salem said as Ruby could feel her heart break all over again for her grandmother. "Days later I found out he was on the 'Viking Valkyrie' ship which sank. He was one of a hundred and thirty eight people to live... our daughters were amongst the eight hundred and fifty two that died."

Rubbing her eyes on her grandmother's shirt, she didn't care if it had been hurting her eyes, she could feel the tears just spilling forth. She wanted to say how she wished for that person to now be dead and in agony. But she could see that her grandmother clearly wasn't in the mood to be interrupted.

"That is why I try so hard to protect you Ruby. You remind me so much of them and for the longest time were the only thing besides that revenge keeping me going. It is also why I refuse to let you go on a boat." Salem continued as she just took a deep breath and raised one of her hands from comfortably holding onto Ruby just to dry her eyes. She knew that she couldn't dwell on the topic very long. "But that is enough of this sadness malarkey. I heard you already found another girl."

"I didn't so much find her out of nowhere. She is a barista at the local cafe to my college. And she is a nice woman and while I know Mom is a little angry that she was a member of the White Fang under Sienna... but she is fine because Blake has dealt with her with Sienna. And she is out now." Ruby started as she just took a deep breath. "Besides... why do you want to change the topic? It doesn't make you seem weak. To me at least... I really do wish that you made him suffer for putting you through all of that."

"Because Ruby, you know I'm not big on emotional expressions. At least to anyone that isn't you. And when I looked into his eyes... he had clearly been suffering just as long. And I couldn't bring myself to rub salt in the wound for the both of us." Salem said just sighing gently as she held onto Ruby a little bit tighter. "But can we please change the topic to your love life?"

"Okay... I love you though Grandma... don't let anyone tell you otherwise. Not even me. You mean everything to me." Ruby said holding onto the older woman as tight as she felt like she could without injuring the woman. She just wanted to try and remove the years of pain she had to have been feeling any way she could. "And Blake is a pretty woman... who thinks I'm pretty... and is the daughter of Ghira Belladonna... she is even against everything the Fang is now days."

"You know what I'll do if she ever harms you or puts you in harms way right?" Salem asked she brushed some of Ruby's hair out of her eyes. "And are you sure you are done applying those eye drops? Your eyes still look pretty bad." Salem questioned as Ruby just simply nodded her head.

She knew that this concern was something that she was never going to be able to get away from, but she did feel a lot better that her grandmother would trust her to this degree. Something that she hadn't even told her adopted children. It was a simple action that just made Ruby all kinds of happy.

"Going off of what Uncle Watts' friend said... yeah. They are just going to be sensitive to quick changes in light for a while." Ruby said happily. "And I know you won't be taking any sort of kindness with any woman who hurts me. But I'll tell you the same thing I told Mom... I'm a big girl now. One of these days you and everyone else is going to need to accept that."

"And yet you still blind yourself doing something that you've done thousands of times before and making basic mistakes that even I know not to make and I have no experience in welding." Salem scolded as Ruby just puffed her cheeks out. "You should probably be going up to bed soon anyways. Doesn't your mother have that dinner tomorrow with you and your roommate with her family?"

"Yeah, but I don't even want it. Mom keeps acting like I'm still the terrified baby she found and saved from death's door that she needs to protect from the world."

"That blinds herself and gives her grandmother a heartattack of a call late at night." Salem said as Ruby began to sulk further. "I'm not going to let you live it down Ruby. When I heard you were in a welding accident... I legitimately thought I was going to lose the last thing I had in this world." Salem continued as Ruby just sighed as she deflated and began to shift positions so she was resting her head comfortably on Salem's lap. "Remember Ruby... you really are the most important thing to me. Cinder, Arthur, Hazel, Tyrian... while they did fill that hole my daughters had in body... but not in spirit. And if anything happened to you... that someone caused... they best pray father time catches me before I catch them."

"Mom says the same thing. She says while she is thankful you picked her up when she was just a street urchin like from those old books you used to read me... she says that until she found me, she didn't have a purpose in life and was fine dying at some young age. And then when she found me... even after the few days before you talked to her... she felt like I took her heart. And that if she caught someone who directly did something she wouldn't stop until she knew they would regret what they did for the rest of their lives... and after meeting one of them... I can say he will regret what he did for the rest of his life." Ruby said softly as she just took a deep breath. "Just... something about this dinner... it isn't sitting right in my stomach. Largely because Yang is a super square. She freaks out all the time... like it is a big thing if I know she is getting some action while I'm here. And like it is some big taboo that it is a woman she has been doing things with."

"To be young again." Salem said with a smile as she looked at Ruby. "Go on up to bed and I'll bring you up some of my hot chocolate and let you talk my ear off about whatever new thing that has your fancy. Even if it is this new girl. I imagine she is very vocal and charismatic if she is Ghira Belladonna's daughter."

"Not really... she seems pretty timid and unsure. Kind of li-"

"Not now Ruby. Upstairs you go. We can have this kind of talk up there."

"Okay."

Catching the blonde woman, Tai took a simple breath as he started to lead Yang out by force. He knew that this was going to be a large expense of time on his part. But he knew that it had to be done.

Walking out of the house with his only daughter over his shoulder, Tai just groaned as he felt her getting angrier and angrier as time went on, but it wouldn't matter. At least not to him if he could just get Yang to calm down.

Placing her down by the abandoned fire pit, Tai took a deep breath as he stared into Yang's eyes. "What gives her the right!?" Yang screamed as Tai simply caught her face between his two hands. "Why do you keep giving her passes!? She broke into my room, took Ruby's christening bracelet... and you have the audacity to forgive her!?"

"Yang!" Tai yelled snapping the woman out of her anger stupor because it had been the first time he had ever truly yelled at her. "You seem to constantly forget that while Ruby was your sister. She was also my daughter." Tai continued as he could see Yang just starting to feel her rage build anew. "Summer didn't break your door down to sell it. If she did, I wouldn't have given her the extra chance. She was crying over it last night as she held onto it. It is currently in my room in my safe. This is all because I told her about your roommate's name as so she doesn't have an episode there."

"She is the reason we don't have Ruby anymore. Why should she be allowed to grieve like that? She broke into my room." Yang said as she tried to feebly fight her father's hold on her.

"I know Yang. But neither of us can really understand the real emotions she was feeling at the time." Tai began softly as he just took a deep breath. "Because of that, I've lost physically two people I hold very dear. And since she caused Ruby's death, I've lost Summer spiritually. All of which are just as much failings on my part as it is on Summer's or Raven's. And all your anger is going to make me lose you too." Tai continued as he could feel the young woman's fighting dying down. "Now, I know you are going to be angry for a while Yang. And I know this is asking a lot from you, that you just don't know if you could give. But for me, can you just drop your anger while we are at your roommate's house? I know you want Summer to suffer, and a part of me does as well, but I also know that Summer has been beating herself up for a long time and until she overdoses and we aren't around her... she will continue to suffer by her own hands. I won't even force you to be in the same car as me and Summer."

"I'm not leaving Ruby's bracelet here... and I mean at all. I don't care how you try and reason it. Ruby deserved better of a mother. And you aren't at fault Dad. You didn't kill her."

"But I recognise the signs of Postpartum Depression and didn't fight her hard enough to get treatment. Why should I be given a pass if my hands have just as much of Ruby's blood on them? Because I didn't do the deed myself? I hate to tell you, I could have stopped it if I just would have mentioned at the hospital that she had started to show signs." Tai spoke with a soft tone as he just took a deep breath and separated from her. "But let's not get all this philosophical. It is getting late, and if this woman is as bad as you claim... I'll stop by and get some Happy Burger for something to fill you up before you go to bed. And then tomorrow I'll swap my door frame with yours so you can lock your door all you want. But Ruby's bracelet can stay locked in my safe until we get back... okay?"

"Fine. But I swear if I find out she took anything else..."

"She didn't Yang. Just relax about that. Okay? Trust me that I know how much you loathe her and what she does and scrutinise everything that she does."

"I'm still going to check when we get back. And don't get lost... because there are actually people with guns and apparently they don't mind firing if they think someone is trying to do something sketchy there... and given the people that her mother does business with... I'd be a little worried to actually test them." Yang said as she pulled back to just rub her eyes. "Apparently Ruby's mother will deal with the Schnee family one hour, turn around and do business with the White Fang the next. And then will have both of them robbed for something that caught her interest."

"I don't think anyone is that daring... but I also will gladly admit I don't know the workings of criminal gangs."

"And I'm glad for that... there is a bunch of shit that that Ruby doesn't know and has even admitted to me that it is an ignorance by choice... I'm at least glad that you are nothing but a farmer." Yang said with a small chuckle as Tai just rubbed her back gently as they started to walk back towards the house.

"Been meaning to tell you... turns out I am the leader of Grimm." Tai said as Yang let out a bark of laughter that just seemed to put Tai's mind at ease.

"After meeting the leaders... you aren't nearly that bad." Yang muttered softly as she just looked at her dad who had stopped.

"What did you say?"

"Hmm? Nothing. Get Summer. I'm going to just go into the garage, grab my helmet and jacket and not wait."

"Fine. Drive safely though Yang. We won't be far behind."

Groaning Ruby pulled her hood up and over her eyes as she just took a deep breath as she plopped down in the media room next to her mother. "Mom... where are the sunglasses? My eyes are actually in a lot of pain and unless you want to eat by candle light... I kind of need them." Ruby said just took a deep breath as she could hear her mother simply laughing. "I'm not joking Mom. I already got several lectures from Grandma Salem. And I'm getting tired of people thinking I did this intentionally. Because I can't stress how painful it is."

"I refuse to tell you where they are. Because I also refuse to let you look like a complete moron who wears shit like that indoors. Arthur dropped by earlier to hand me a pair of these old time syphilis glasses."

"Gross Mom! I don't have that. I know about safe sex and I do take precautions... it was literally the only decent thing those Nuns taught us in sex ed... the use of dental dams." Ruby complained as Cinder just rolled her eyes and produced a pair of dark sunglasses and handed them to her daughter.

"One of the symptoms apparently is photophobia. And before they figured out treatment they would wear glasses that blocked out a lot of light." Cinder explained as she began to smile at Ruby putting them on. "And if you didn't practise sex safely, I'd be concerned and signing you up for all kinds of talks with some whores that are far far down the chain in one of the many branches I have." Cinder said as Ruby began to shiver.

"So gross. I don't want to know anymore. And how will sunglass make me look like a 'complete moron' but these won't... mind you it is super cool to see things in this shade of blue... even out of the corner of my eyes." Ruby said as she began to brush her hood back a little.

"Because those are designed for indoor lights. And because they actually make you look more like a pretentious artist instead of a moron."

"Oh goodie... the look I always strived for." Ruby mumbled as she could see one of her family's security guards walking up to Cinder to lean down and whisper into her ear.

"I am. Send them up to the house. Keep an eye on the mother. She is an addict."

"Send Yang down here when she gets in Mom."

"Okay Ruby." Cinder said as she stood up and started to walk up the stairs. "And seriously Ruby... are they actually better?"

"Yeah. And don't scare Yang's parents too bad... you know unless her Step Mom tries to jack one of the cars."

"I guarantee that if she tried that, I'd do a lot more than scare her. And if she tries anything with you, you can bet I also wouldn't be very kind."

"Okay Mom."

Author's Note:

And done. It was a fun write... at least for me. Next time, shit is going to hit the fan.