Ruby hummed under her breath as she walked down the hallway towards Cinder's cell. She stopped before the door, flashing a smile to the camera on one of the corners and the wardens watching from the security room, then leaned forward to scan her eye on the panel beside it.

She'd tried to convince Miss Goodwitch to grant her authority to enter the cell on her own from the start of her visits, but the older woman had been indifferent to her pleas. That would be a huge security risk, and Ruby wasn't even a Beacon agent anymore to have such access to the agency's facilities, she'd said. It wasn't until she realized Ruby wasn't going to stop visiting anytime soon that she relented. She probably didn't want the hassle of granting permission and notifying the wardens every other week.

The panel beeped as it finished scanning Ruby's eye, and the door opened with a hiss. Ruby stepped into the room beyond, surprised to find the lights were off. They were usually on when she came around, but she supposed she was a little early today. The door started to close behind her, and Ruby just barely saw Cinder lying on her bed with her back turned to her, before the door shut completely and left her in the pitch-black.

Was Cinder… sleeping? The thought was somehow odd to Ruby. Of course Cinder had to sleep sometime, and with her being locked in a cell with little to no activities to take up her time, she probably did that quite often. Ruby had simply never pictured what that might look like. Or stumbled upon it, like right now.

Ruby looked over her shoulder, towards the door. Maybe she should leave and wait outside for half an hour. Hopefully, Cinder would be awake when she came back.

But as Ruby began to turn, a murmur came from the other side of the glass wall – or rather a whimper, so soft she barely heard it. She looked towards Cinder's bed, and caught another whimper. Was…

…was Cinder crying?

She took a step forward, opening her mouth to call out, when suddenly the lights came on, nearly blinding her. She saw a blur of movement as Cinder sat upright, and as her eyes readjusted, Ruby watched as she looked around her cell with wide eyes, her chest rising and falling rapidly as she gazed at the walls, until finally she noticed Ruby standing there.

In an instant, Cinder's face went cold – but not enough that Ruby didn't see the distress in her eyes. Like a cowed animal ready to bite. Ruby took a step back-

"What are you doing here?" Cinder spat, getting up from her bed.

"I-I'm here to see you," Ruby said. "It's Thursday, you know. Ruby day?"

"No, I don't know that. I'm in a fucking cage, if you hadn't noticed," Cinder said. "Leave. Now."

"Okay. Sure. Sorry, I didn't know you were gonna be sleeping, and…" Ruby said. "I'm going, but… Are you okay? You sounded like you were having a really bad nightmare."

"It doesn't concern you."

"Do you always have nightmares like that?"

"I told you to leave!"

Cinder stretched her arms to the sides, and in each hand a blade of pure-black glass materialized, forged from mere particles of dust floating in the air. She walked towards the glass wall with a snarl on her lips, and Ruby backed away, fists clenched. Cinder wouldn't be able to break through the glass, but that didn't make her any less frightening.

"Leave!" Cinder screamed again, and her blades burst into flames, morphing the air around her. Ruby gulped. Maybe she would be able to break through the glass.

A low noise filled the room, like a whistle, but muffled. Cinder stopped immediately, her blades dissipating, and a moment later, fell to her knees covering her ears. Ruby watched in confusion – the sound was irritating, sure, but not nearly enough to cause pain – until she realized, she wasn't the target.

"Hey!" she shouted, looking around the room. She couldn't see a camera anywhere, but the wardens had to be watching, to have reacted so fast to Cinder's aggression. "Cut it out! That's enough!"

After a few seconds, the sound ended. Ruby turned to look at Cinder. Her arms were shaking, and as she looked up, Ruby saw a trail of blood coming from her nose. Cinder wiped it with her wrist, and sneered as Ruby knelt at the other side of the glass.

"Are you okay?" Ruby said.

"Shut up," Cinder said. "I don't need your pity."

"Well tough luck, you're getting it," Ruby said. "That was way too much. I'm gonna have a talk with the guards later and make sure they don't do that ever again."

"What is wrong with you?" Cinder said. "I was going to kill you."

"No, you weren't. You were just trying to scare me off." Ruby scowled. "Again. Because you think I'm dumb and that's gonna make me leave."

Cinder looked away. She wiped her nose again, and stared at the blood it left smeared on her fingers. Her shoulders dropped, and she let out a deep, tired sigh.

"I dreamt I was in the room I grew up in," Cinder said. "It was dark. No windows. I got scraps for food. Water once a day. Twice if I behaved." She shuddered. "And it was tiny. But some days it felt like it stretched on forever."

Ruby felt a lump in her throat. "I… I don't get it."

"What don't you get about it? It's simply how I was raised." Cinder grinned bitterly. "Why, was it not the same for you?"

Ruby looked around the room. At Cinder's half of it. She didn't know what to say.

"I know what you're thinking. And no, that wasn't a metaphor," Cinder said. "History has a way of repeating itself. It's rather annoying like that."

"So, what, you think you were meant to end up here?" Ruby said. "You surrendered. This was your choice."

"Yes," Cinder said. "I suppose it was."

Ruby rubbed her nose. One day she would understand. One day.

"There. You've finally wrenched something honest out of me," Cinder said. "Are you happy now?"

"No." Ruby said. "This isn't a game, Cinder."

"Of course." Cinder rolled her eyes. "Can you at least leave me be now?"

Ruby shook her head. "I'm staying right here." She shuffled a bit closer to the glass. "It's okay. We don't have to talk about it if you don't want to. We don't have to talk about anything."

Cinder stared at her for a moment, then turned and rested her back against the glass.

"Fine," Cinder said. "…Idiot child."

Ruby pouted. "Hey!"

"What?" Cinder sneered. "It's what you are."