Chapter Thirty-nine: And Finally I'm Forced to Face the Truth part II

"Look, Blake, I don't mean to be rude, but whatever Jacques and the SDC did, I had nothing to do with it," Weiss said in a slow and controlled manner. She pinched the bridge of her nose and gritted her teeth, bracing herself to take the full brunt of every awful thing Blake needed to get off her chest. But to her surprise, Blake didn't say a word. She merely shook her head and steadied herself, pulling away from Yang.

"Blake?" Yang said as she anxiously trailed after her friend.

"It's okay, Yang," Blake murmured with a shaky smile before taking another small step towards Weiss.

Ruby quickly got between them, but Weiss stepped around her and stood her ground against Blake.

"I've washed myself of their ilk the moment Jacques threw me out," Weiss said, clearly to avoid any miscommunication. "I am deeply sorry for what my relatives have done to your people. I will also humbly admit that I wasn't the kindest growing up, but I've learned from my mistakes and have spent years trying to atone for them."

"No!" Blake said, furiously shaking her head. "That's not… that's not what this is about!"

"Then what is it?" Weiss asked with an eyebrow raised in question.

"Mama?" Chrys stood by mother's side and held her hand, urging her to look her way. Weiss flashed her a brief smile and squeezed her hand before turning back to Blake who was frozen in place, mouth agape. "What?" Chrys angrily barked when she realized Blake's gaze was on her. "Do you have a problem with us or something?"

"N-No, quite the opposite actually," Blake whimpered, tears pricking her eyes. "You're Chryssie."

"Huh? Uh, hi? I don't know you," Chrys said, slinking back a step to distance herself from Blake.

"She used to show me pictures of you…" Blake continued as she shakily pulled a bloodstained photograph out of her wallet. She stared at it with a melancholic smile before turning it around to show everyone. "It was my fault."

"Where did you get that?" Weiss asked, pulling Chrys behind her the second she saw the picture.

"Like I said," Blake sighed in frustration, "it was my fault."

"That doesn't answer my question!" Weiss yelled, glaring daggers at Blake. "Where did you get that?!"

"Mama! Mama, let go!" Chrys cried as she tried to pull free from Weiss' grip. "You're hurting me!"

Weiss instantly let go and cradled Chrys head. "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry," she apologized, kissing Chrys' forehead."

"Mama, stop! I'm fine now—what was on the picture?" Chrys moved her head around trying to see the photograph again, but Weiss kept getting in her way. "Ugh! Mama, you're being so annoying! Just let me see it."

"No. Ruby, take Chrys to her room, please," Weiss said as she struggled against Chrys.

"Uh…" Ruby's eyes darted between Weiss and Chrys, unable to move.

"Mama! Mama, stop it!" Chrys yelled, shocking Weiss and everyone else in the room. She angrily slipped out of Weiss' grasp and snatched the photo from Blake. She glared at her for a couple of seconds before inspecting the photograph.

"Chrys, don't!" Weiss pleaded, but her desperation fell on deaf ears.

"You said it was your fault…" Chrys said, tracing over the deep red stains obscuring her and Weiss. "What did you mean by that?"

"Just that," Blake confessed with her head hung low. "It was my fault. Your mother died because of me."

"Blake?!" Yang gasped in horror, her hand shooting up to cover her mouth.

Blake turned to Yang with a guilty smile and tears in her sad golden eyes. "This is what I've been hiding from you—the real reason why I moved to Vale. It wasn't for a better job or to chase after Sun… I-I moved because I ran away!"

"So… the whole thing about your ex and why you're so jumpy all the time?"

"That was all true," Blake sobbed. "But I-I never told you the whole truth. I never told you how I lived in fear of that monster, or how I woke up each morning thinking it'd be my last…"

Chrys turned to Weiss, her bottom lip trembling. "Mama…?"

"Come here, baby," Weiss said, urging Chrys to come back to her with open arms. "It's okay."

Unsure of what to do, Chrys ran back to Weiss and desperately held onto her.

"I'm sorry," Blake said. "I've been trying to find the words to say how truly sorry I am. But it always boils down to how if we hadn't met—if she had just given up on me like I begged her to so many times—I'm sure she'd still be here."

Weiss and Ruby held Chrys between them, both doing their best to shield her from Blake.

"Blake, I…" Yang licked her lips, unable to say anything else.

"It was my fault! All of it!" Blake suddenly screamed trying to get a rise from Weiss, but all she got back was silence and Chrys' quiet sobbing. "I'm sorry…" she muttered. "I am so, so, sorry."

Yang ran a hand through her hair trying to make sense of the situation, but both she and Ruby were at a loss on what to do other than stand by the women they loved.

"What happened that day?" Chrys asked, her words barely audible through her sniffles. "No one's told me anything… what happened to my maman?!"

Blake jump back in shock, her ears pressed flat against her head. "I… I-I don't know if it's okay for me to—"

"Tell her, Blake," Weiss muttered, her words dripping with icy venom.

Gulping, Blake blindly reached out for Yang and found nothing but air until she felt cold metal fingers interlock with her own. Yang smiled at her and gave her a reassuring nod.

"Coco, she… she came to me pick me up for a cup of coffee," Blake said, her terrified golden eyes locked onto Yang's tender gaze. "You were about to move, s-so she wanted to meet up one last time. I-I usually had to sneak around to see her—Adam, he… he refused to leave me alone, so I'd lie about not having a break just to have some time for myself."

"Who's Adam?" Chrys asked, pulling away from Ruby and Weiss to properly face Blake.

"Adam was my fiancé," Blake said with a wry grin, almost too embarrassed to admit it. "He was the one that—" Blake bit her bottom lip, refusing to say another word.

But Chrys wasn't having any of it.

"Say it," she commanded. "Say. It!"

"Chrys…" Weiss murmured, placing a hand on her daughter's shoulder.

"Say it, Blake!" Chrys commanded again, shrugging Weiss off as she marched up to Blake. "If you want to take responsibility"—she jabbed a finger into Blake's chest—"then say it loud and clear."

"Chrys!" Yang interrupted, putting herself between the two. "Calm down."

"You don't get to tell me to calm down, Yang!" Chrys screamed back at her. "My maman is dead because of her and she doesn't even have the guts to say it out loud!"

"Enough, Chrys!" Weiss yelled. "That's enough."

"No!" Chrys whipped her head around and glared at Weiss, matching her perfectly. "I have done nothing but be 'calm' all this time," she said in the same subdued tone Weiss used when she was truly angry. "I kept my mouth shut while you moved on. I supported you and got along with Ruby, and I didn't say shit when she"—Chrys pointed a finger at Ruby—"started changing things!"

"Chry…"

"You don't even like plants, but look at our apartment!" Chrys continued, her face red from screaming. "Everything is green!"

"We had a lot of plants in the old house," Weiss said with an exasperated sigh.

"Only because Maman liked them…. you promised you wouldn't hide things from me anymore, but you haven't told me anything," Chrys growled. "I have been patient, Mama. Really, really patient. But I'm done waiting. Either you tell me or Blake does."

"I…" Weiss felt a lump form in her throat. She tried to swallow it several times, but it was as stubborn as her and refused to go down without a fight.

Noticing the state Weiss was in, Ruby wrapped an arm around her and held her hand. "It's okay, Weiss," she said with a sad, heartbroken smile. "Trust her. Chrys knows what she's doing."

Weiss bit her lip, unsure of what to do. She wanted to tell Chrys the whole truth, but revealing something so traumatizing to a ten-year-old still reeling from the loss—it just wasn't the right time.

Ruby caressed Weiss' cheek and tilted her head to look up at her. "It's okay," she cooed, kissing the deep crinkle between Weiss' brows. "It's okay." Her lips brushed against Weiss' scar. "You're okay."

Trusting the words Ruby whispered to her, Weiss looked to Chrys and found the same fury that burned away at her for so long. There would never be a "right time" to tell Chrys. It would hurt no matter what.

"I don't know what to say to you, Chrys," Weiss said, finding her voice. "You aren't a baby anymore, but you're still a child—the things Blake and I know, they're not meant for someone so young."

"So when will you tell me?" Chrys asked. "When I'm twenty and out of your hair?"

"I wouldn't go that far," Weiss smiled, happy to hear she'd have another decade before Chrys was fully independent. "Fifteen at most—or whenever you're old enough to fully comprehend the weight of what you're asking of me."

"That's not good enough!" Chrys huffed in frustration. "I need to know now! I can't take it anymore, Mama!"

"I under that you're frustrated, Chrys," Weiss said, "but yelling at me or Blake won't fix this."

"I'd be more inclined to listen to you if you weren't clinging to Ruby like that," Chrys muttered with her arms crossed and her hip cocked.

"Point taken." Weiss was red from embarrassment, but she didn't dare step away from Ruby.

"Chrys, I'll tell you everything, just please stop yelling at your mother…" Blake pleaded once Chrys and Weiss stopped yelling at each other. "She's just trying to protect you."

"I don't need protection, I need answers," Chrys said as she turned her cold gaze back towards Blake. "Mama isn't going to tell me any time soon, so now it's up to you—tell me everything."

Swallowing, Blake looked past Chrys and silently begged for Weiss' permission; a subtle nod was all Blake needed.

"Go ahead, Blake," Ruby said, speaking for Weiss.

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah, I'm sure. I think it's about time we all hear the truth, and who better to hear it from than you?" Ruby squeezed Weiss hand and pulled her closer. "Weiss, what do you think?"

"Go ahead, Blake," Weiss said, mirroring Ruby's response.

Taking a breath, Blake let go of Yang and stood her ground against Chrys.

"Adam killed your mother," she said, letting her words hang in the air to let it sink in. "She saved my life… and probably so many others."

Chrys clenched her fist, though the hand holding the picture remained gentle.

"How did s…?" she asked in a voice so soft only Blake could hear it.

"I should probably explain how I met her first," Blake weakly murmured, wrapping her arms around herself. "Two years ago, Adam got arrested for something stupid. I don't exactly remember what because I just finished a fifteen-hour shift at the hospital, and all I wanted to do was sleep, but I went to go bail him out anyway. Everyone ignored me there except for Coco. She was on her way out, heading for home, but she stopped and sat down next to me… she asked me about the bruises on my face and why no one was helping me. I felt I could trust her, so told her the general story and," Blake chuckled, "she got angry. She got angry for my sake, a total stranger. And even though she was off the clock, she insisted on helping me."

"Maman never did like leaving people to suffer…" Chrys murmured, her tense shoulders loosening. "Were you two friends?"

Blake took another deep breath to calm herself, but as she opened her mouth to speak, her bottom lip trembled and a tear slid down her cheek. She quickly wiped it off, but another followed it.

"She was the only friend I had," she confessed, patting the corner of her eye dry with the heel of her thumb. "She meant the world to me…"

Nodding, Chrys tugged her sleeve over her hand to help dry Blake's eyes. "She meant the world to me too."

"The day it happened was the day Adam got kicked out of the White Fang. The leader had finally had enough of him and cut him off… so he took his anger out on me." Blake lifted her shirt, revealing a small X shaped scar on her left hip. "He stabbed me here twice," she said tracing over the fresh scar. "He left me to bleed in the corner while he destroyed our home."

"And my maman?"

"There's a lot to be said about your maman, Chrys," Blake said with a genuine smile. "She was a wildcard who never let people know what she was thinking, and she kept to herself a lot even though she always had someone following her. She was snarky, arrogant, and downright mean at times, but she was capable of the greatest kindness. You could depend on her… you could trust her. So when she says she'll pick you up at 1p.m., you know she'll be there."

"What happened next?" Chrys asked, bracing herself for the inevitable end of the story.

"She showed up right on time and knocked on the door." Blake dropped her hands to her sides and hung her head, unable to look Chrys in the eye. "I felt my heart stop. And before I knew what I was doing, I was yelling at her to get away. I begged her to leave."

"But she had to be a hero, didn't she?"

Blake nodded, glancing up at Chrys with a wry grin. "She broke the door down like it was made of paper. And when she saw me on the floor, she tried getting me out, but Adam stopped her. They struggled for a while, I was barely conscious, but I knew she was giving him hell."

"Maman…"

"He went down and I thought we were safe," Blake said with a sniffle. "I really thought we were safe. She called for an ambulance—I'd lost a lot of blood at that point, but I could see her face clearly… a-are you sure you want me to continue?"

Chrys sucked in a breath and took Blake's hand. "I need to hear it all."

Blake knelt and took Chrys' other hand. They stared at each other for a moment, neither one daring to breathe.

"She carried me like I weighed nothing at all," Blake continued, swallowing hard. "She kept telling me it'd be okay—that we'd be okay—and that help was on its way. She started talking about you and your mother and how she wanted me to meet you both when all of this was over. She promised she'd take me away to somewhere safe… we got about halfway to the door when Adam fired the first round; he was aiming at the ceiling to get our attention. I-I don't know what he was saying, but Coco put me down and held her hands up. She was trying to deescalate the situation… he fired another round just off to the side, nearly hitting my leg."

"And then what?"

"She stood in front of me and ran at him… he fired again," Blake said, the final three words just above a whisper. "She took him down and broke his nose. She also knocked his front teeth out, ahaha… a-and then she made her way back to me."

"You said you were a nurse," Chrys murmured, unable to contain her tears any longer. "Did you try to help her?"

"I did everything I could." Blake pressed her head against Chrys' stomach and willed herself to continue. "She asked me to take that picture out of her wallet so she could see you both…"

"Did she say anything?" Weiss asked, stepping forward. Blake looked up while Chrys turned to face her. "Blake!"

"Mama, don't…"

But Weiss ignored her.

"Did she say anything?" Weiss repeated.

Blake nodded. "She said she loved you and that she was sorry for everything she'd done to hurt you."

"Nicole…" Weiss stumbled back into Ruby's arms.

"She wanted me to tell you that being with you was the greatest honour of her life." Blake stood up and dried her tears. She took a second to calm herself, but the façade gave way almost immediately. "She wanted more time with you."

Chrys tugged on Blake's sleeve, her big blue eyes begging for closure. "What about me?"

"Sh-She didn't have much strength left, and I was fading in and out… I-I was so cold, I thought I was going to die… but her voice kept me there with her." Blake gently lifted the hand Chrys held the photo in and brought it up to Chrys' chest. "I didn't hear what she said, but during the few moments I was lucid, I saw her lips moving from the corner of my eye. I don't know when exactly she left me, but I know you were the last thing on her mind. When I woke up a few days later in the hospital, they told me that I was holding onto this like my life depended on it…"

"Is that it?" Chrys asked. "Is that everything?"

Blake nodded. "Forgive me."

"You were a victim," Chrys murmured with a stiff upper lip and a runny nose. "You weren't at fault."

"If she hadn't met me—god, I wish it had been me instead of her!"

"Don't!" Chrys shouted, staring up at Blake defiantly. "My maman was my hero. She always did the right thing even if it made Mama angry. She always put others before her and… and… s-she'd never leave a friend behind."

"Chrys, I—"

"I want to hate you!" Chrys yelled in frustration. "I want to hate you so badly and blame you for everything—but I can't because no matter how much you blame yourself, you were never at fault!"

"But I—"

"No!" Chrys stomped her foot. "Stop blaming yourself! If you keep doing that, you'll end up wasting the life Maman gave everything up for!" Blake's mouth dropped as she sank to the floor, defeated. "Please tell me you've done something with your life since then?"

"Hey, Chrys, that's enough," Yang said, stepping up behind Blake to check on her. "I get your angry, but beating on Blake isn't going to make things better."

"Neither is stringing you along," Chrys snapped as she furiously swiped at her eyes, leaving them red and raw. "You chase her around like a lost puppy with its tail tucked between its legs. Is this really the person you want? The kind of person who runs and hides?"

"Stop it, Chrys," Yang said with a hand on Blake's shoulder.

"You had all the time in the world to come find us," Chrys said staring down at the photo in her hand. "You knew we were moving. The internet wasn't quiet about it either—you must've known we'd be here."

"I knew," Blake murmured.

"Then why?"

"I've tried…" Blake said, shaking Yang's hand off. "I've tried so many times to go into Nobility and request a meeting, but I froze at the door each time."

Weiss raised an eyebrow. "So you're the mystery woman my security keeps mentioning."

"Oh," Blake blushed. "I'm sorry. I'm a coward, there's no other way to put it… I couldn't leave Adam, and I couldn't return that picture."

"You also couldn't accept our help when we offered to pay your hospital bills," Weiss added. "How much debt are you in?"

Blake flashed her a wry smile filled with agony. "What's the cost of a life?"

"Immeasurable," Weiss answered with a sneer.

"I couldn't take that money after what I took from you all."

"Your legal fees?"

"Haha…" Blake hid her face in her hands and took a deep breath. "I won't lie, even if I didn't have Coco's death weighing on my conscience, I still wouldn't have accepted your help."

"Why?"

"Because my parents paid for everything…" Blake answered. "I hadn't spoken to them since I ran away from home… I was sixteen and he filled my head with dreams. I thought we'd change the world together, make it better for our people, but we didn't. And despite all the stupid things I said and did, they still waited for me. And when I needed them the most, they were there like ten years hadn't gone by."

"Parents do that," Chrys said, patting Blake's head. "They're annoying, nosey, and they always try to do everything for you, but the good ones—the really good ones—they're always there for you." Chrys glanced back at Weiss. "Mama tried to hide things from me, but she never stopped me from looking at the internet… I know all the things people said about us and about you. Your name was never mentioned in the papers though. Why?"

Blake blushed again, her ears flicking nervously. "Um… I'm… technically a princess."

"What?" Chrys blinked.

"Ahaha… haaaa, yeeeaaaaah," Blake gulped. "My father's the current Chieftain of Menagerie... and the, um, founding leader of the White Fang."

"The fuck?" Yang hissed. "Who the fuck are you, Blake?"