Dance

Ruby was probably the happiest that she had ever been– she was so happy, that she wasn't even complaining that Weiss and her sister had forced her into wearing heels. Now, she was kind of glad that she had been convinced. She understood why they were so important to her.

Ruby Arc was over a foot shorter than her husband– wearing heels simply helped to minimise that.

However, the heels didn't help much. Even with them on, she could still barely reach his chin. To kiss him, she would need him to lean down. Which he took great pleasure in reminding her of.

We're no strangers to love…

"Can you believe that today has finally come?" Ruby asked him with a beaming smile, one of her hands gripping his while the other held onto his arm. "There was so much stress to get everything ready before I started to show, that it didn't feel real until now."

You know the rules and so do I…

The two of them danced to the music, Jaune smiling back at Ruby as if she was the only person in the room. "Remember when I helped you out of that crater? If I knew that I was going to marry you that day, I would have helped you sooner."

A full commitment's what I'm thinking of…

"My 'Vomit Boy' really grew into my knight in shining armour." Ruby beamed back at him, feeling her heart flutter as he leaned in closer to her, unable to help but glance at his lips.

You wouldn't get this from any other guy…

"If it weren't for your help, I never would have been able to become the man I am now. Your support and your love has helped me so much." He whispered to her, making her flush as his arm wrapped around her waist, pulling her in close.

I just want to tell you how I'm feeling…

"I love you, Jaune. I always will," she whispered to him, closing her eyes in wait for him to kiss her. Her heart raced as she waited for his lips to press against hers. It was something that she never wanted to become used to.

Gotta make you understand…

"I love you too, Ruby. I want to spend the rest of my life with you." That was the last thing he said before he leaned in.

Never gonna give you up, never gonna let you down…

When he kissed her, it was like time stopped. Nothing mattered to her except him; the moon could fall apart and she wouldn't notice.

Royalty

The Rose kingdom was a peaceful one. During the summer, the crops were plentiful, and one of their inventors Pietro had even found a way to continue to grow crops through the winter using greenhouses.

For those who asked, the people were happy– well, for the most part. Their queen was a kind woman– beautiful, vibrant. She was a fair ruler, inheriting the crown young after her parents died in a tragic accident.

Her marriage caused a lot of uproar among the nobles sadly, but she didn't care much for them. She loved her husband too much. He just wasn't the kind of man that was 'befitting of a queen'– or so her advisors told her, over and over again.

He was just a builder. He helped to build homes, and he already had a daughter from a failed relationship, but when Summer was with him, she felt happy. She didn't feel like a queen buried under the weight of responsibility.

Instead, she felt like Summer Rose. In the end, they scrambled to get married before their daughter was born out of wedlock– which for a queen, would have been a massive ordeal. She ignored everyone who told her not to get married– even her closest friends– and when she walked down the aisle that day, she was happier than she had ever been.

When she fell ill, some even said that she deserved it– that it was her punishment for marrying outside of her station– but as she lay on her deathbed in her final moments, looking at her husband and two children, she knew that she had no regrets.

If death was the price to pay for love, then she would pay it happily. She knew that she would be smiling down at her family, waiting patiently for them to join her.

Deft, practised fingers tied the threads of her corset, careful not to lace herself up too tight before the silver-eyed woman smiled nervously in front of the mirror. Today was the day. She was sure that today was the day that Jaune was going to ask her out.

She swooned at the thought, butterflies swarming in her belly as if she owed them money. Her face flushed from her thoughts before she shook her head, practising her smile as she forced her mind to go back on track.

She was a princess– the future Queen of the Rose kingdom. She needed to be serious. She needed to be realistic. Her suitor would probably be another noble, or maybe even a prince from another kingdom.

Her hand in marriage could foster better relations with foreign lands; she couldn't entertain childish fantasies of marrying her knight any longer.

She told herself that her breathlessness was from her corset, even if she knew that it wasn't tight– that her blurry vision only came because she was tired, and not because she was struggling not to cry. Struggling to not break down.

She was royalty– those of her station didn't get to choose who they married. They were too important.

Today would be the day that she turned down her knight and started acting like the adult that she was becoming– the adult that would make her mother proud.

She wasn't sure what she was thinking as she finished getting ready. She threw a black and red robe over her shoulders to try and help conceal her, but not before her makeup was done. Her face was covered in a pale foundation, to try and hide how the skin under her eyes had become blotchy from crying. Her lips were painted red to try and distract Jaune's attention away from her silver eyes.

She knew that if he got a good look at her, he would see the truth, and she knew that if she looked him in the eyes, then she wouldn't say no to him– she wouldn't be able to.

She slipped her feet into a pair of heels that she hated the least before she left her room, making a beeline to the only way out of the castle walls. She had taken this route fairly often. Her steps were as silent as she could make them, her hood pulled over her head.

If someone saw her, she hoped that they would think that she was just a peasant; that she wasn't the princess. Normally, the princess was accompanied by knights– sadly, not her knight usually. Jaune was still learning to be a better fighter.

Only the most elite and trusted knights would work on the royal watch, and Jaune wasn't there just yet. One day, she was sure he would grow into his role. She flushed at the thought, remembering just how scrawny Jaune was when he first attempted trying out to be a knight– how clumsy he was.

But he never gave up. She remembered watching him training outside for hours on end, just like those characters in those books that Yang's friend read.

She shook her head to get her thoughts back on track before she let out a light "eep" as she heard footsteps walking toward her. Frantically, she looked around, knowing that if she was caught then she wouldn't be able to explain her way out of this.

When she spotted a large vase, she thanked whoever was watching over her. Normally, the vases would be filled with flowers, but when they died, they would need to be replaced. Someone must have forgotten to fill a vase or something. Her hands quickly went to the sides of the vase before she, in a quick movement, lifted herself over it, one leg slipping inside followed by the other.

"No, we are not going to war with the Schnee kingdom if I can help it. Get in touch with our spies; see what they know." A familiar voice ordered out, making Ruby's heart race knowing exactly who was close to catching her.

She quickly let go of the edges of the pottery, dropping to the ground– only for her heels to bite into the dirt, leaving her fixed in place. Her head stuck out as if she was an exhibit.

A hushed curse was let out under her breath as she tried to free herself, but with her arms trapped inside the pot, she couldn't find the leverage to pull herself out. It wobbled and tipped from her movement before it finally tipped too far, sending the vase, and Ruby with it, falling to the ground.

Ruby's heart raced as the loud clatter filled the room– and what made it worse was that she still wasn't free. Parts of the vase had cracked and splintered from the impact, but she still couldn't get free. All that her attempts rewarded her with was a roll that left her feeling motion sick.

Her attempts to stop herself only resulted in making her roll faster, her eyes clenching shut as she forgot about her need to hide before she was suddenly stopped, hitting something solid.

"So, what are you doing?" A voice asked, making her eyes shoot open, her heart racing as she looked back at her father. He wasn't wearing a crown right now, making his hair spike up, but he was still in his royal robes. Robes that she would be expected to wear one day.

"I'm rolling." She blurted out an excuse, hoping that he would fall for the lie, giving him a fake wide smile.

In reply, Tai simply raised a brow before he moved his foot away from the vase. "Really? If you want, I can give you a push then." He offered, making her pale. "What were you doing here for real?"

Before she could craft another lie, another blonde stepped into sight, a goofy smile on his face before he stopped, seeing the sight in front of him.

"My king, my princess, has something happened?" He questioned, giving a small bow and forcing the smile off of his face. He tried to hide the flowers that he was holding behind his back, but the rose petals that littered the floor gave his secret away.

"I see," the king murmured, his expression unreadable.

At the sight of her knight holding flowers that he had picked for her, Ruby couldn't help but flush lightly. She hoped that her father would believe that it was because of the spinning, but she wasn't holding her breath.

"Looks like all three of us were in the kingdom at once! Funny coincidence!" Ruby fake-laughed, making Tai facepalm.

"Yeah. Coincidence."

"I'm actually meeting a girl here, her name is Sapphire. I'm sure you two have met her."

At that, Ruby herself would have facepalmed if her hands were free.

"You two really are perfect for each other." Tai sighed, making both of them freeze in shock before Tai smiled, looking at Ruby. "Your relationship is about as secret as Blake and Yang's relationship." The king rolled his eyes as he spoke, mentioning the next Chieftain of Menagerie.

The two of them flushed at the king's words before Ruby shook her head. "Dad, I'm a princess. I can't be with a knight." She denied vehemently, trying to ignore the look of hurt that appeared on Jaune's face, making Tai shake his head.

He crouched down and gripped the top of the vase before slowly righting it. "You remind me more of your mother every day." He admitted to her, making Ruby's lip tremble, her silver eyes looking up at him in surprise. "Being a queen didn't stop her from marrying a simple builder." He whispered into her ear before he stepped back, giving a nod to Jaune that conveyed a simple order.

"So, what did he say?" Jaune asked after a beat of silence, making the younger princess smile. She was still trapped in the vase, but she didn't care.

"Jaune, I love you."