Hey guys! I hope you will enjoy this new chapter I have brought.

A Shattered Life

Chapter 7: The Kiss

The lingering light was obliterated by the rapidly falling night, the once beautiful salmon and purple sky, was now transformed into a vast expanse of pitch-black that engulfed the whole region. A canopy of luminous stars materialized amongst the ocean of blackness in the sky. Some of them were dull, merely flickering into existence every now and then, but there was an adequate amount of shimmering stars that were illuminating the full moon night.

A mighty airship was flying through the night, it's destination was the most powerful and advanced independent town in all of Remnant, Gwain. "Attention to all crew members! This is your Captain speaking. We are going to arrive at our hometown in a couple of minutes, so take your positions and await further orders." He said through the intercom. The Galeon began to slow down it's speed as it flew above the magnificent wall that surrounded the entire settlement, protecting it from many dangers and threats, like the creatures of darkness known as Grimm for example. Gwain also has a defensive perimeter built around the outside part of the walls that was created in order to keep unwelcome packs of Grimm away. What protects that mighty wall is a set of four enormous anti-infantry cannons called 'Genesis' spread across the territory, they can destroy a city block with just a single round.

Ruby was on the ship's bridge with Geo and Sunny. This was her second time here, and it seemed everyone was more busy than the last time she was here. Like a few crew members were pressing buttons on their terminals quite fast, not giving Ruby a chance to read what was written on the holographic screens. Then, when she looked at the window next to her, she saw the Genesis cannons below. "Wow! Those giant cannons are really awesome!" She said enthusiastically, as she had never seen such structures before. "Where did you guys get those things? I mean look at that incredible size, they surely must have been expensive."

"They were believe me." Answered Geo. "My father is a good friend with a certain Admiral of the Atlas military, I think the man's name was Marcus. Anyway, I heard he was ordered to dismantle them for some reason, but instead of doing that, he approached my father and asked if he was willing to buy them for a reasonable price." He said. "Of course, he didn't think twice and accepted the offer. We lost plenty of money that day, but it was worth it if you ask me, with that advanced weaponry our borders are well protected and the citizens can feel safe."

Ruby nodded in agreement. "That's a good way to spend your money in my opinion." The young girl could see that one of the most important things for Geo was the safety of his people, much like Lord Aiden the ruler of Gwain, he would do everything in his power to keep them alive. "You truly care about them don't you?" Ruby looked at him with a kind smile on her lips. "Not everyone would have done what you and your dad did. There are plenty of leaders who only seek their own interests and don't care about what happens to others in order to achieve them, but you actually care about the people, even those who aren't from your hometown." She said. "I'm certain you will one day become a great ruler."

"I appreciate your kind words Ruby." Geo bowed his head. Suddenly, flashes of red and yellow burst in the sky, spilling sparks, and illuminating the night air. The concussion followed seconds later, sounding like a distant thunder. "Fireworks?...Oh right! I almost forgot that today is Gwain's festival." More fireworks from a few dozen displays filled the horizon with reds, greens, whites and purple colors. "We throw a party every year commemorating the day that our town was built." He said.

"Wow! They are so pretty." Ruby's silver eyes shined brightly because of the explosion of colors that was happening out there. "This is the first time I'm seeing fireworks that aren't in a holographic screen. I never thought they could look this magnificent." She couldn't take her eyes off the fireworks.

At that precise moment the Galeon started making it's way down towards the landing-zone near the docks. Both Geo and Ruby saw several soldiers through the window approaching the area, they soon surrounded the place and formed a perimeter under the orders of the General has she knew there was an important passenger on aboard the Galeon that was scheduled to arrive today. They successfully evacuated the remaining civilians from the site, then the massive ship was able to land without much trouble.

After the dust settled the door's were opened. Many crew members left the ship in a hurry as they wanted to see their families and spend some time with them, while others went straight to the streets of Gwain to celebrate with the locals. The young Lord exited the airship alongside Ruby and the medical officer of team Hacksaw, Sunny. "Welcome to my home, Ruby! I hope you will enjoy it here."

"I've never been to a town this big before." Ruby looked at her surroundings completely astonished. "This place is truly amazing." Gwain was the richest settlement in all the eastern region. The place was packed with numerous buildings which were so high, that some believe they were built to reach the sky itself. And the buildings themselves looked as new as they could, almost no cracks visible at the naked eye, painted with bright, vivid colors. Countless streets crossed paths with one another and together they created a maze, getting lost there was much easier than being in a forest for the first time. "So where do we go now?" She asked intrigued.

Has Geo was about to answer the girl's question, a woman with a scar in her left cheek walked to them. Her pink, sleek hair was tight in a ponytail that revealed a handsome, frowning face. Bloodshot green eyes, were set appealingly within their sockets. "My Lord I'm glad to see you are safe and sound." General Avala kneeled down. Her armor has a pointed helmet with a face guard shaped in the face of a Beowolf. Attached to its side are two well crafted faces, one cries and other laughs. The shoulders are pointy, wide and quite large. They're decorated with hundreds of small leather pieces, mimicking the scales of a fish. The upper arms are protected by rounded, layered metal rerebraces which sit quite well under the shoulder-plates. "Who is this stranger next to you? I've never seen her around here before." She looked at Ruby with a suspicious expression.

"Relax Avala, she's with me, her name is Ruby Rose." Geo said.

"Hi!" Ruby extended her arm to shake Avala's hand, but the woman refused. "Real friendly." She muttered under her breath.

"Would it kill you to be nice to someone for a change?" Said Sunny annoyed with the General's behavior, gaining the attention of the group. Avala quickly got up as she saw the medical officer approaching her. "That scar fits you quite nicely don't you think? I bet guys find you actually attractive now."

"Ha ha. Very funny." She laughed sarcastically. "Tell me does your leg still hurt? Because if I remember correctly, the last time we fought you screamed like a girl when I broke it."

"My leg is doing just fine, and yes I'm a girl, unlike some people." Sunny mocked her.

Avala reached to her weapon's handle. "You better apologize at once medic or I will be forced to break your leg again." She threatened.

"I would like to see you try." Replied Sunny as stood a few inches away from Avala's face.

Extreme tension was in the air and everyone could feel a fight between these two was about to break at any moment. "Calm down!" Geo grabbed Avala and pulled her back, while Ruby did the same for Sunny. "There's a party going on and we are suppose to enjoying it, not fighting each other."

"I was trying to have a good time my Lord but like usual when this wannabe warrior appears she ruins the mood." Replied General Avala. "Just let me remind her who's her superior officer."

"Enough Avala." Said Geo. "This discussion between you two ends here."

"...Fine, I'll take my leave but if you need me I'll be at the castle, inspecting our defenses." She walked away, but the anger in her eyes was still strongly present. "I wish you all a good night."

Geo then turned to Sunny. "I'm sorry about my behavior master." She apologized.

The young boy sighed. "It's alright, just go to your family and spend some time with them, they must miss you a lot."

"I'll go at once." Sunny said. "I hope you two have fun, bye." She quickly disappeared from their sight.

"These two are always at each others throat."

"I can see that." Said Ruby. "...So where do we go now?" She asked.

"Now, we go to the town's market and have fun." Geo smiled, as he grabbed Ruby's hand, causing her to blush a little. They made their way to the market through the large crowed that was in their path, it proved quite difficult at first since there were people dancing and running around. But with luck on their side, they managed to get to their destination safe and sound. "Gwain has everything you can think of, like weapons, Dust, healing herbs and many other things." Said Geo, and he wasn't kidding. The huge market located at the town's center was filled with all sorts of stores and supplies for everyone to buy.

"Wow!" Ruby was impressed, she had never seen such a market like this one before. They walked around for a while has Geo wanted to show her the place, but Ruby's attention was quickly drawn to the weapons store as she wanted to see what type of weapons they had, and if there were upgrades she could buy for Crescent Rose. "A crossbow that can transform into a spear, that's cool I guess. Look at those two pistols, if you combine them they will turn into a rifle."

"Haha! You really like guns don't you?"

Ruby got embarrassed. "I do like them a lot, you don't find that weird do you?"

"Of course not." He answered. "...Hey! How about we, you know...dance?"

Ruby's heart was racing as she wasn't expecting that question from her crush, nonetheless a small smile spread across her lips. "Uhm, I-I never danced in my entire life Geo. I'll just trip and fall, then everyone will laugh at me."

"I won't let you fall." He took her hand. "You have my word."

"O-Okay."

At first the dance didn't go too well, mainly because Ruby wasn't anywhere near graceful at dancing as she was at fighting Grimm. But after a dozen of miss steps, Geo and Ruby were finally able to start enjoying themselves. "Oh my god." She giggled. "I must be the worst dancer you have ever met."

"Don't say that, you actually dance quite well." Replied Geo as he continued to move his partner in the best ways he could. The young Lord found some unusual enjoyment in this simple activity, maybe it was because the intimacy he was sharing with Ruby right now which made him feel good. After all, she was so close to him that he could even smell her perfume, which had a nice, strawberry kickback. "Your silver eyes are so beautiful under the moon light."

Ruby blushed. "Hehe! Your the first to say that."

In that moment they're eyes met one another, their faces were so close that caused them to blush. "Ruby, I..." Geo could no longer control his feelings, and so he gathered enough courage and pressed his lips against her's.

Ruby is surprised, her whole body tenses up. It seems she doesn't understand what's happening, and her eyes are open in bewilderment. It took a couple of seconds for her brain to grasp the situation at hand. The tension she was feeling soon disappeared from her rigid shoulders. Ruby closed her eyes, and then, she entrusted herself to Geo.

Geo wrapped his arm around her waist and pulled her even closer to him. Ruby's lips were soft and delicate, the lushness of her lips spread to every corner of Geo's mind. This was certainly a pleasant sensation that both of them had never experienced before. Then their lips slowly moved away from each other, the warmth from the kiss lingered for a moment but shortly after it disappeared. "...I love you, Ruby Rose." Said Geo.

The girl's heart filled with joy when she heard those sweet words. "I...I love you too." Tears of happiness ran down her cheeks. "Y-You better not hurt me because I-I...I."

"I would never hurt you." He cleaned her tears. "Please, stay here at Gwain with me."

"I will." Ruby smiled warmly. For once in a long time Ruby was happy, the loneliness she felt every day was gone, Geo's love for her has started to heal her damaged heart.