Disclaimer: Of course I don't own RWBY, its characters, or the franchise. That's all Rooster Teeth~
Story: In that forest with Yang, Ruby's silver eyes activated too early and she finds herself traumatized after a long time of captivity. Years later, her precarious mind wonders if she'll ever be okay, all while trying to grow into herself. If only her Soulmates could tape herself back together, though they'd have to figure out that they are in the first place…
Set as a complete AU rewrite of the series, included as a Soulmate!AU.
Spoilers: Definitely, as an AU rewrite.
Warnings: Age disparity, maybe future situations if this is continued. Violence, death, and cursing is a given.
Pairings: (Main) ClockRose (Ozpin/Ruby), IronRose (Ironwood/Ruby), and Qrow/Ruby, with some Ruby/Various. (mostly one-sided), especially WhiteRose. Toss up on RoseBull (Adam/Ruby).

A Thorn Crown For the Rose Queen
Chapter Three: Feral

When the brothers came back, they found a near feral child that had somehow survived living on the island on her own —an island filled with Grimm and many other dangers that would've surely provided her more than a challenge to her life.

They'd had to corral her back into the boat needed to go there, but once she was brought temporarily under control, it was back to the same place as before.

And Ruby knew it.

Instead of crying as she had before, she was locked in her desperation and attacked them, biting at them like an animal herself and clawing at them when she lost her makeshift knife she'd had for herself on that island for survival.

"I hate you, I hate you!" she screamed at them. She bit down harshly on one of their hands, nearly down to the bone she was pretty sure.

Whoever it was screamed and a blow to her head made her black out and finally find peace in the darkness.

The next time she woke up, she was back in that stupid, stupid room.

"I HATE YOU!" she screamed aloud, angry tears finally escaping her eyes.

And when Mikhail came into the room with another Grimm, somehow more agitated than usual and giving Mikhail trouble dragging it in, she glared resentfully and bared her teeth.

"Still feral, huh, girl?" he groused, wrestling with the Grimm and chaining it up. "Good. Get that animal instinct in you, push it so you're willing to survive anything."

"I'll tear your throat out," she rasped furiously, actually daring to threaten him.

But he only looked at her amused.

"I look forward to that day," he told her seriously.

She bared her teeth at him again.

Somehow she'd managed to glean that she'd been gone from home a year and a half by then. Every night, they still chained a Grimm to that pole and she couldn't remember sleeping anymore. She slept terrified if she slept at all, and she held onto a single dagger they let her keep on her. But then they decided the Grimm was kept in the room with her all day, if they weren't training.

"Better off this way —learn to control yourself, get rid of that fear and whatever negative emotions you have."

Just another lesson for her, they said. Another way for her to be useful and not be wasteful of her 'talents'. A way for her to be more 'effective'.

She screamed at them like the animal Leonid still teased her as being.

"If you want to be an animal, then you can be collared like one," Leonid sneered after, wrestling her into a chokehold and securing the collar onto her neck tighter, before then —to her horror and despair —shocking her with it and letting it go on for a bit. Pain assaulted her senses and that was all that ruled her, leaving her too breathless to scream.

"You going to try hurting me and Mik again," he held up the remote and pressed it again, causing her to convulse as she was shocked once more. "This happens. Every. Fucking. Time. You got it, kid? Get it out of your head now and don't disobey us anymore either, unless you want to be treated like an animal and get punished like one."

Ruby curled up on her bed, whimpering and sniffling as she nodded her head weakly. Her body was still suffering from aftershocks of the electric punishment and she could still feel the heated metal of the collar burning the skin of her neck.

"Stay there," Leonid sneered, eyes dark and promising more punishment if she dared to disobey or try anything, or even just talk back.

He left and came in with another Grimm, its initial aggression in coming into the room strangely lessening as it came in and was walked towards the pole. It was chained to it and Leonid observed it in a mix of wariness and confusion, though said and did nothing.

Through her pain, she wondered at the odd docile nature as it weirdly was watchful over her, purple eyes never blinking from its vigilant gaze.

She was hungry. Starving actually. The brothers didn't feed her consistently and usually they were meager meals. The bulk of her food that she ended having wasn't much and usually were ration bars that seemed to be stockpiled. When there was heavier training, they tended to feed her a little more, but there wasn't an abundance or a variety of food either way —not even the brothers tended to eat much, it seemed.

She was also constantly terrified. The brothers, especially Leonid (who she suspected liked to make others be in pain), were rough on her and her training always hurt and left her damaged or hurt in some way. And without her awakened Aura, she had a hard time healing and keeping herself safe and unharmed in the first place. She had to rely on either healing as normally as possible or, unfortunately, resorting to Mikhail's Semblance (which she never wanted to do —ever).

"I'll be back," she vaguely heard Mikhail grunt to his brother. "Going to handle some things in town and will be back tonight."

"I got it," Leonid hmmed. "Let me know if you come back with something good."

Ruby flinched and wished Leonid had gone with Mikhail so that she could be left alone for once. Instead, Leonid came back to her and stared down at her with a scowl.

"Honestly, laying down like that is useless. Get up," he ordered and she shook her head, curling up more on the floor. "I said get up!"

"No!" she shouted, refusing.

Even if Leonid's temper had become increasingly shorter and more violent with her, she hated dealing with him.

"By Gods, girl," he growled and came over to her, fisting her hair and yanking her up. "Get up!"

She scratched at his hand and arm, digging her nails into skin so he'd let go. It made him even angrier and let go of her, only for him to start beating her violently. Furious with her, he didn't let up until she lay limp on the floor and he walked away in frustration.

Her breath rattled out of her, feeling and knowing she'd broken bones and was bleeding inside. She coughed and blood spat out of her mouth.

Ruby closed her eyes and focused on her shaky breathing.

In. Out. In. Out. In…Out…

"Oh, my One."

What was that voice? It sounded sad and yet angry. It was a scary kind of angry, one that chilled her bones and terrified her more than even the brothers and the Grimm had, which she didn't think was possible.

"Open your eyes, my One," whoever it was demanded.

Prying her eyes open, she looked to where she thought she'd heard the voice coming from. She blinked lethargically, seeing a tall figure covered in a silvery robe and leaning over her. She couldn't see their face, but from their voice, they sounded like a man.

"You're dying," they said and she whimpered, tempted to close her eyes again.

"Right now, you are in a state of in between, my One," they told her solemnly. "I know it hurts. I know you're tired and in pain. Would you like relief, my dear Ruby Rose?"

"P-please," she sniffled, asking childishly and her hand weakly reaching out and grasping at their robe. "Please h-help me. Make it stop h-hurting…"

She saw them reach out to her, with pale, thin hands coming towards her face and lightly touching her gently.

"I am yours, as you are mine, my One."

And then they glowed bright, too bright that she had to close her eyes. She felt warm all over and then felt some sort of energy seep into her.

Ruby's eyes snapped open then and her broken body was whole and mended, even if it ached all over and was in pain everywhere she could feel. With a surge of strength, she shoved herself upwards and swayed as she stood up.

Gasping and pushing herself, her aching body ran ragged out of the building without stopping and focused on escaping. She didn't care to pay attention to anything else around her, only to find the exit and get as far away from there as possible.

She burst outside to see the sun and she felt relief and shock at seeing it for the first time in what felt like years. But she quickly refocused and began to run towards what she could hear was where people were. Getting away from the group of cold, gray and quiet buildings, she ran towards where she could see people walking up and down a street. Crying to herself in greater relief, she looked around the crowded street and saw the signs.

"I-I'm in Mistral?" she gaped at her surroundings, amazed and horrified.

She was so, so, so far from home.

Looking back and realizing that she still wasn't that far away from where she'd been held captive, she kept herself running, glancing back only to see Leonid running out of the area where the building she'd been held at was. Terrified, she turned back forwards and began to run again.

Finding herself in a large crowd, where she could hear angry yelling and saw people holding signs and seeming to be protesting, Ruby realized that the people around her were Faunus. Glancing around, she became desperate as she saw Leonid looking around for her. She pushed through the crowd urgently, breath quickening and praying under her breath to not be caught.

"The hell?!" she heard as she slammed into a body.

Looking up, she saw it was a red-headed boy with cornflower blue eyes and an angry scowl, glaring down at her and cringing back.

"Please, please!" she rasped out, glancing back as she grasped at the boy's arm. "Please!"

She can't, can't go back! She can't!

The boy froze up, glancing back behind her too and scowl lessening to a less severe frown.

"C'mere," he said gruffly, snapping the plain brown cloak on his shoulders off and then whipping it around her. He tugged her closer to him and shoved the hood of the cloak onto her head, hiding her face into his side.

Then he continued yelling, protesting with the others at this rally while Ruby shivered into his side, clutching onto him in terror and hoping not to be caught.

"I'm R-Ruby," she gasped out, back to the crying girl and not the animal that bared her teeth and bit and lashed out.

He paused, body tense.

"Name's Adam."

And he held her tighter, with the two of them staying like that until the rally ended.

Started 3/21/21 – Completed 5/16/21

A/n: Did I do that? Yes, yes I did :) Am I sorry?...Nope~ Lol, hey, at least she's escaped? I am enjoying, so I hope you all are too! Lemme know how y'all feeling~

Quick Points:

1. If you enjoy my writing, please consider supporting me on ko-fi!

2. Yes, it is that Adam~

3. It's not the end of the brothers.