This was originally posted as "One Final Stand", but I was looking through the unpublished chapters of OFS and thought just to make it Act #2 of My Princess. Late on decision, but since the story hadn't yet entered the plot, I figured it'd be alright.
I'm very sorry for the inconvenience, but I do hope you all enjoy Act #2!
Act #2
Intro
"So it seems that the old man's plans fell; just as I'd predicted."
"He has been put behind bars, ma'am. It also appears that she has gotten married rece-"
"Ah, so the Rose has gotten married. . . How interesting."
She cleared her throat, folding her hands behind her back neatly and watching the woman pace. "Yes, ma'am, she's married," she repeated quietly, "it also seems that she's expecting a child." The woman paused and slowly turned to her, a knowing look glinting in her eye.
"Which one is carrying?" The voice asked, stiffly facing away from her and resuming her pacing.
She straightened her posture, "The white one, ma'am," the woman's head tilted towards her, "about a month along by the looks of it."
"Interesting. . ." The woman spoke calmly, wearing a dangerous smirk on her face, one that she could just barely see through the darkness. "Aryl. Your child is three months old, correct?"
"I, um, yes." She answered carefully, "What do you want me to do?"
The woman stopped again, approaching her this time with an unreadable expression. "Nothing as of right now," a practiced, warm smile crossed the woman's lips, "let them have their happiness. They recently got married and are expecting a little thorn, after all." The woman leaned in close to her, "When their guards are down, that is when you will make your appearance. But, don't be as foolish as that man was.
"I'm listening." She whispered shakily.
"Good. . . Now, this is when your little Wolfe comes in to play."
"Weiss? What're you doing out here? It's cold." Averting her eyes from the snow-covered stone in front of her, Weiss shifted her body to look at Ruby. The brunette quietly approached her, her boots sinking up to her heel in the thick snow made it difficult for her to walk. Weiss giggled as Ruby grunted in frustration, muttering curses under her breath before opting to practically march over to the bench Weiss was sitting on.
"Just thinking, plus I needed to get out of the house for a minute. You're bothersome." Weiss smiled as Ruby trotted around to stand in front of her with a hand on her hip. not sparing the stone a single glance. Ruby raised a brow at the woman, who only stuck her tongue out in response. With a heavy, defeated sigh the brunette took a seat beside her.
Just as soon as she sat down, Ruby shot up with a shriek, ripping ice and snow up from the bench with her. Weiss failed to bite back a snort of laughter as her wife frantically started dusting her backside off. "WOW that's cold! Fuck!" Ruby yelped, "I think my butt's frozen!" She turned to Weiss, who had broken down into a fit of giggles. "You think that's funny?! You love seeing me suffer don't you? I'm not an Ice Queen like you are, the cold bothers me, okay?" Weiss' laughter only got louder and a smile tugged at the corner of Ruby's lips, "Wow, you find it funny, huh? Okay."
Without warning, the brunette straddled the woman's lap, bending her legs to rest on the cloth of the cloth and wrapping her arms around Weiss' neck. Smiling, she gently bumped her forehead against her wife's, who mumbled in annoyance. "Still find it funny now?"
Weiss smirked again, her arms encircling Ruby's waist to hold her in place. "Funny? No, my Sweet, it was absolutely hilarious."
"So I see." Ruby hummed, "But seriously, why are you out here? You could catch a cold, and the baby-"
She was silenced by Weiss tapping her index finger to her lips, offering her a small, sad smile. "You know why I'm here, Ruby. Why do you even bother asking?" Ruby sighed and shifted so that she was sitting sideways in her wife's lap, she turned her head to look at the stone. "It's been two months. . ."The stone had their emblems carved into it, combined to be one picture. Below was a name, having been cut into the stone with tenderness and care: 'Celeste Rose-Schnee'.
"I keep wondering," Weiss whispered, her voice cracking with concealed grief, "what would they have looked like?" Ruby bit her lip, choosing to keep quiet for the moment. "Would they have been a little boy, or maybe a little girl?" Weiss tensed, her arms tightening around Ruby, "What did I do wrong. . .? Why did they not make it? Their sibling is doing just as well as any unborn should be. . ."
"Weiss. . ." Ruby muttered quietly, gently tapping Weiss' chin to the side to grab her attention. Blue eyes met with silver and Ruby hesitated. 'You can do this. You have to tell her.' With a deep sigh, she began speaking. "The day of the mission. . . I did die, Weiss." Said woman's brows furrowed in perplexion, "I heard my mother calling to me. When I woke up, she was standing in front of me with a child at her side. A little girl. I didn't know who she was, but she ran up to me with a little red and white rose in her hands."
Weiss' eyes widened and Ruby smiled weakly, "She stood right in front of me, and, well, she had silver and blue eyes and black hair. Weiss, she was our baby girl. . ." Tears stung at the corners of her eyes and Ruby's chest tightened, choking on her own breath, she continued."It's strange, but she looked so much like you that I swore that I was looking at you through her eyes." Ruby lifted her gaze to look at Weiss again, "She handed me the flower and when I opened my eyes. I was in a cave somewhere, and I was alive. . ."
A moment of silence passed between the two, Weiss averting her gaze and squeezing her eyes shut. Ruby reached up to wipe away the stray tears and rested her forehead against Weiss', allowing her to process the information. After a few seconds, a strangled sob escaped the young woman, "She's okay, she's at peace. . . It wasn't my fault, Ruby. . ." A warm, thankful smile crossed Weiss' face, "My Ruby. . . I do love you so. . ."
Once again, I'm very sorry for removing the sequel, but I decided that this would be a better idea.
Let me know what you think!
~Dixie
