Ruby wishes that everyone would stop staring at her. Ever since their discussion this morning, in which her new status as the Fall Maiden was revealed (and Ruby still has no idea how she should feel about that particular development), the rest of the occupants of the house—her sister, her uncle, her team, Ozpin, have been staring at her whenever they think she won't notice (but it's hard not to notice when everyone is staring at you) like they expect her to—what? Explode? Burst into flames? She has no idea, honestly.
She's never liked being the center of attention. Especially for something like this, when she never even wanted the maiden powers in the first place. From what she's heard about them, they just seem to paint a target on the back of whoever possesses them. Ruby already has Salem's attention, with people like Tyrian attacking her and her friends. She doesn't need to give them even more reasons to come after her. The people she loves have enough to worry about already without adding that to the mix.
Especially since she still doesn't quite understand why the power of the Fall Maiden would fall to her, when Cinder had hated her so much. Surely it would make more sense for the powers to end up with someone who was closer to Cinder? Someone like Emerald, who had been completely devoted to the former Fall maiden, would have been a more logical choice. Why Ruby? Why had she ended up being the one chosen?
What was so special about her?
"Whenever you're ready, Miss Rose."
But unfortunately, it doesn't seem like she's going to be given much time to think about any of this. Everyone seems eager to see her use her new powers—especially Ozpin. It makes sense—everyone is relieved that the power of the Fall Maiden is back on their side, and out of Salem's clutches. It's reason to want to have her start practicing with her new powers right away, so that she can be as prepared as possible the next time they run into Salem and her allies.
It just would be nice to have a chance to process everything that's happened in the last day or two, that's all.
But there's no time for that, Ruby scolds herself. She's the leader of team RWBY, and now she's the Fall Maiden as well. She can't be shirking her responsibilities and taking a break right now, not when everyone is relying on her to step up.
So, instead, she takes a deep breath, squares her shoulders, and forces herself to smile. "I'm ready," she announces quietly.
"Then give it a try."
Closing her eyes, she tries to concentrate on that feeling she sensed before, that heady rush of power surging through her that she had felt back during the battle at Haven. Like nothing she'd ever felt before. As if she could topple mountains with just a flick of her wrist.
After a moment, she feels it rising up inside her again, a tidal wave of energy ready to be put to use in battle, and she opens her eyes. Once more, she can see the silver flames sparking at the corners of her vision, and she feels a tiny bit of triumph. Part of her had feared (besides everything else there was to fear that came with being the Fall Maiden) that the first time was just a fluke, and that she wouldn't be able to do it again here with everyone watching her.
"Very good, Miss Rose. Now, let's see you put that power to use."
It turns out that trying to harness the power of a maiden is very difficult. Ruby probably should have expected that.
It's not like she expected it to be easy, really. Still, she's taken aback by just how hard it is. It's nothing like learning to use her aura or her semblance—it doesn't come naturally to her at all. It doesn't feel instinctive or intuitive at all. Training herself to use the power of the Fall Maiden isn't like practicing sparring or training with Crescent Rose or working out to strengthen her muscles. It's like—well, it's not like anything that Ruby has tried to do before.
And that's the problem. Without anything to compare it to, she's having a hard time moving forward with this new training. It feels like she's floundering around, completely in the dark. And so far, Ozpin's vague advice has been less than helpful.
Even after a week of intense training and daily practice, Ruby still feels like she's not getting anywhere. She can summon the maiden powers, but not to the same extent as she'd seen Cinder use them, and even summoning them feels like a challenge half the time. It feels like she's running in place, working hard but unable to get where she needs to go.
By the end of their training session that day, Ruby feels exhausted. All she wants to do is head back inside and gobble down whatever Ren has made for dinner, hit the shower, and then collapse in bed. So when Ozpin pulls her aside and asks to speak with her before she can leave, she's not exactly thrilled.
"Miss Rose. Might I have a word?"
"Of course," Ruby replies, hiding her reflexive grimace and forcing herself to smile pleasantly instead. She's really not in the mood to hear more meaningless platitudes about how she shouldn't give up and just needs to keep working harder.
"Ruby," Ozpin begins, his voice serious. "I assume from what I know of you that you're giving this your best effort, but." He pauses for a moment. "I'm afraid that I've noticed that you've been holding back."
"What?" Ruby exclaims in disbelief. She's been trying so hard to master these powers since she got them. "No, I'm not!"
"I know it may not feel like that's the case," Ozpin interrupts her attempts to refute him and defend herself. "But I can assure you that's what's happening. I've seen it happen before. That's why you've been struggling so much. Some part of you, maybe even unconsciously, is fighting against the powers of the Fall Maiden, rejecting them. And so long as you have not fully accepted the powers and duties that come with your new role, you will remain unable to fully master them."
"I—" Ruby begins to say, than stops. How does she even begin to respond to that?
Ozpin rests a hand on her shoulder. "I know it's hard, Ruby. You've got a lot of pressure on you. But I know that you can do this. You have the ability to help turn the tide in the battle against Salem with your new abilities. I know that you won't let us down."
Ruby watches him walk away, a sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach. She was right, that conversation didn't make her feel any better.