Hey! Been a while. Sorry for that. Well, I wanted to get this out before the finale craze sets in, so, enjoy!
Once upon a time, there was a girl that was born into a life of plenty and into a life that was of a noble family. And even if that sounds like an introduction to a fairy tale, her tale was not as happy as that would infer.
The girl had the luck of being born a beautiful girl, with snow white hair and a pretty face. Her first fond memory was of her older sister, who had hair just like she did, completely white and long, combing her hair and being a great sister overall.
By first fond memory, sadly, that means that it wasn't her first memory. That would be being yelled at for daring to go outside five minutes early. Her father was a very strict man and would not take messing with timetables easily, even when "messing with timetables" meant his three year old child wanting to go outside sooner than was planned.
There were many more memories like that in her life. She didn't know what happiness was, so when she finally found happiness, she foolishly believed that it was to last forever.
The more important part of her story started when she was twelve. More specifically, her twelfth birthday. At the lavish birthday party, her father introduced her to a boy of the same age. The girl never saw him before that day.
"He's the Harroway's heir and only son, Emile. I would appreciate if you could be friends with him."
So the girl did as she was taught to do from her birth: she politely introduced herself with a curtsy, lifting her skirt slightly just like her mother taught her, a perfect depiction of an aristocrat child.
After that birthday, the boy would come to their place all the time to spend time with his new friend. While the girl found it weird at first, she thought that they have just moved there and that the boy had no other friends to play with. And they did become good friends. But there was something off that the girl could not place. Something about his behaviour wasn't right.
Was it his incessant wish to be close to her, and then hugging her out of the blue? His courteous kisses on her cheeks? Something just wasn't right, but she didn't dare say anything to her father about it. And so the boy kept coming to her house, holding her hand, hugging her and occasionally kissing her.
It was not until her fifteenth birthday that the girl learned the truth. That was when her father interrupted another lavish party he threw in her favour.
"Excuse me, fine ladies and gentlemen!", he said into the microphone and everybody turned to pay attention to him. Something about the girl's father demanded your attention and respect, so when he spoke, everybody else shut up and listened intently.
"Ladies and gentlemen, this party so far has been everything I expected it to be. However, as some of you already know, this is more than just a birthday party for my lovely little girl. As you know, we had arranged for Mr Harroway's oldest son, Emile, to be her husband once she grows up. She isn't all grown up yet, but it is to my great pleasure to announce that today is not only her birthday, but also the date of their engagement!"
Everybody cheered at those words, but the girl looked confused. And that feeling of confusion didn't stop when Emile put a ring on her right ring finger. A ring made of gold, with a large diamond on it, not larger than her family's diamonds, but large enough to be something special. Something didn't feel right for her, and her confusion was only growing stronger when, to celebrate the engagement, Emile kissed her on the lips for the first time. Everybody in the room cheered at that too.
The girl felt like she was naked in front of everyone. I'm supposed to marry this boy? It was just like fairy tales. She should be happy, right?
She was supposed to marry one of the richest family's heirs. Sure, her family was already amongst the richest in the country, but every girl's dream should be marrying someone just like that. She did like him as a friend, and he wasn't pushy, but something was off.
The girl didn't love him like she felt she should. To be fair, she felt a feeling closest to love with one of her girl friends, a girl that had long, orange hair and freckles that made her extremely pretty and interesting to the girl.
That girl was there at the party too, after the white-haired girl's father begrudgingly sent the invitation to her family. She was not of the richest families and her father seemed to view her with a bit of disdain. She thought nothing of it, though. Penny was her friend, and birthday parties are a thing where you invite your friends, are they not? Oh, how she was wrong in that regard. They might be that in the normal world, but in the world of aristocrats, birthday parties were a way to show off your family's splendour, and you achieved that with inviting only the most important and richest friends. Later on, the girl would find out that Penny was only invited because she wouldn't stop begging her father to do it. In the end, Penny was only a daughter of one of the servants of their manor.
That aside, Emile was in no way interesting enough for the girl to think of him as her husband-to-be. Back then she couldn't understand why, but it all became clear a bit later on in her life. A month later, to be exact.
She was talking with Penny about her day, as she did every day, when Penny looked at her in a weird way. The girl didn't exactly know why. It was only when she looked at their postures that she noticed herself leaning over into Penny's shoulder and looking at her with something that wasn't solely friendship.
"Miss, why are you leaning on me like that?"
"Penny, I… I told you to call me by my real name when we're alone. Many times."
"I'm sorry, Miss… Weiss. The question still stands, though."
The girl didn't know what to say in that instant. Do I tell her that I feel something for her I never will for Emile? Do I lie like I was taught and blame it on feeling a bit sick? But then she'll make a fuss out of it and I'll be in trouble because I was lying.
In the end, the girl just lifted herself up from the shoulder and placed a tentative kiss on Penny's lips. Penny was surprised at first, but as she was only a servant's daughter, she did not want to pull away out of fear of being scolded or worse.
The girl withdrew soon, cheeks completely flushed with blood.
"Weiss. Why did you… You are engaged to someone. You aren't supposed to kiss people you're not engaged to. Not in this way. If anyone finds out, I will be in big trouble, Weiss."
The girl realized that she caused nothing but discomfort to Penny, which was the exact opposite of what she wanted to do. She quickly scrambled for words.
"I, um… I decided that… I wanted to practice kissing for Emile. And I didn't want to… Do it with another boy because that would be wrong. I… Yes, that's it. I wanted to practice kissing."
"You did? But you should have told me anyway," Penny protested, "I can't do something like this without being told. It will make me unable to properly do it if I'm not informed."
"W-Well, you're informed now, aren't you?" the white-haired girl was grasping for straws, her final straw being that. If that would backfire, she would not be much more than dead or made to abandon her best friend, and she wasn't sure which sounded worse in her head.
Penny seemed satisfied with the explanation, at least, which calmed the girl down somewhat.
"So, can we continue practicing a bit?", she sheepishly asked.
Penny looked at her weird. "I'm at your service, I am not allowed to say no."
"W-Well, I'm not asking you as your master, but as your friend. If you don't want to help me practice, you can say that and I will not be angry at you." Sad, maybe, the girl thought, but didn't say out loud.
"I would love to," Penny answered and the girl couldn't be happier. The first 'kissing practice' went on for about an hour after that.
At the start, the practices were only twice a week, but the girl was very enthusiastic about learning how to kiss someone that she insisted on making their practices daily.
Before she knew it, they were much more than practice for both of them. Neither wanted to admit it to the other, though. But the girl knew, deep down in her heart, that she would never want to kiss Emile the way she was kissing Penny.
After a few months, the girl tried to get a touch of her kissing partner, but Penny pulled away, somewhat saddening the girl.
"Weiss, I don't think…"
"I need to practice, Penny. And I heard that when you love someone, you… Touch them too."
Penny was just looking at her, dumbfounded. She regained the gift of speech after about a minute, and she was blushing. "Okay. But only once. If anyone sees us, it will be bad for both of us."
The girl enthusiastically nodded and put all her passion in the next kiss, gently running her hands all over Penny's body. The orange-haired girl wasn't returning the touches, though.
"Why aren't you touching me?"
"I… Didn't know whether you wanted it."
"I want to. I want to know how it feels."
And from then on, their kissing sessions became deeper and deeper with every single one of them.
It was further three months down the road when they finally came clear to each other. It was, of course, during one of the sessions, and Penny was the one that started the conversation that eventually led to the admittance.
"I think these sessions are getting better every time," she said. "What about you?"
"Penny, I love these sessions. I can't wait for the day to come to the time I see you again."
The girl put her hands around her mouth, realizing what she just said and half hoping Penny didn't hear her, half hoping she did.
"Weiss? Did you just say what I think you said?"
The girl refused to answer and kept her hands around her mouth.
"Weiss, please. As a friend, answer me my last question."
As a friend… Why just a friend? I want you to be so much more. Weiss looked at Penny with assertive eyes, still refusing to answer.
"Please, Weiss. For me, these sessions are way more than kissing training. Have been for a long time. Please, tell me if you feel the same way too."
But I should love Emile, not you. Why, oh, why must I love someone not my fiancé? And a girl, on top of that. "Penny. I…" the girl took a deep breath to compose herself. "For me… This was never practice. Sorry I lied to you, but I just wanted to kiss you, and once I did, I just wanted to continue doing that and didn't want to stop. Please, don't tell anyone about this or Father will be upset, I know it."
Penny stared at her friend. For a moment, she didn't know what to say. Finally, her mouth widened in a smile. "Oh thank god. I was afraid I was the only one falling here." Then she did something completely unexpected for someone her stature. She grabbed the girl by her face and brought her closer to her before kissing her full force.
The girl returned the kiss happily, feeling really good for the first time since her engagement birthday party. She never wanted to be apart from Penny ever again.
So they started dating in secrecy. They never went on any real dates, but they would often meet somewhere away from the eyes of the nosy servants and have their kissing sessions, no longer under the pretence of practicing, but to show their passion for each other.
This went on for a while, both girls were as happy as can be. On the night before her seventeenth birthday, her father came to her room. The girl felt tense at the very notion of him in the same room as the girl, just the two of them. He sat down on her bed and tapped it so as to invite the girl over to sit with him. She did so, not wanting to invoke her father's rage. She was afraid, though. He wasn't showing any signs of anger, if anything, he seemed happy about something. But the girl was still afraid.
"Dear daughter. You will be seventeen tomorrow. I couldn't be happier. You're entering your eighteenth year. You will be married soon and I will be the happiest father on this world. Are you as happy about it?"
I am to get married? But I don't want to. She couldn't say that, of course, so she quickly gathered her thoughts. "Of course, Father."
"Have you thought of who you were going to invite to be your bridesmaids?"
"N-No," was the girl's honest answer. How could she? She didn't even know she was to get married soon. "But I know I want Penny to be there, by my side."
Her father looked at her incredulously. "Weiss, this is your wedding we're talking about. This isn't some kind of birthday party. You can't have a servant's daughter be your bridesmaid."
"Why not?"
"No use in hiding it, dear daughter, weddings among aristocrats aren't some commoner's weddings. They are a way of showing off. I have allowed you to bring that girl on your birthday parties because I wanted to see you happy. I still want to, but I can't allow a commoner like her to be your bridesmaid."
"She is my best friend." My only friend, too, she wanted to say, but she knew better. "Why can't my best friend be my bridesmaid? I can always pick two noble girls to be next to her."
"Weiss, this is non-negotiable. That girl won't be your bridesmaid and that's final. I will hear no more of it." With that, he arose, visibly less happy than before. "Think of three girls you want to be your bridesmaids. As long as they're of our stature, they will be fine. We're lucky enough to be a family that everybody wants to be on the good side of, so be happy that you even can choose. Otherwise I'd have to be sending out requests to every single influential family with daughters and hope three accepted." Then he left and shut the door loudly.
The girl was heartbroken. Then she decided that if she can't have her best friend be a bridesmaid she'd still make sure she had a spot right next to her at the wedding dinner. Upon breaking the news to Penny, she took it way better than the girl thought she would.
"I expected that. In the end, no matter how much I am to you, I'm still just a servant's daughter."
"But you're my girlfriend!"
The girls both blushed at the word. They were still not used to it, but they liked the sound of it.
They continued dating in secrecy and before they knew, spring came and with it, the last months of the girl's unmarried life. With time, they got bolder and bolder, going all the way a few times, but always in fear of getting caught. That day, for whatever reason, they threw all the caution to the wind, trying to go all the way in the girl's own bedroom. While that might have been safe had she been in any other house, her father chose to pick the exact moment when the girl's top slid off her and left her nearly topless, save for a bra that covered her perky breasts.
When the girl noticed that look she knew they were both in big trouble. After a few seconds of the realization setting in, her father erupted like a volcano.
"My daughter will not be with another girl! How could you do this to me, after all I've done for you! Ungrateful slut! And you, insignificant cog in my employ, how dare you touch my daughter! You can be sure you two will never see each other again!"
He just kept on yelling and yelling. Eventually, he stopped, but his yelling summoned the mother and sister as well. The sister didn't say anything, but the mother was a different story. When she felt like she vented enough, she literally threw Penny out of the room and told the other daughter to take her back to her quarters.
When the door to the girl's room shut behind Penny, that was when pandemonium began for her.
The parents definitely didn't look like themselves. They were always cold with everyone, and that included the close members of the family, but the girl never expected the abuse she received that day.
That passed and soon after, summer began. Her parents sent the girl to one of the church camps in hope that her homosexuality could be healed. Since the day they were caught, she never saw Penny again, or even her father. She was unable to say goodbye to her and that pained her more than she could imagine.
You know what happened from that camp onwards, Ruby, so I will spare you the details. Let me just fast forward to the first day of college.
The girl arrived at her new school, far away from home, and was immediately harassed by someone she later learned was very much a bully with his eyes always set on his prize. In that case, the prize meant the girl. He would have had his way with her on that first day if not for one amazingly brave girl who jumped in at the notice of abuse and saved the girl from the bully by beating him into a pulp.
She could have easily just left then. But she wanted to see if the girl was alright. Thanks to her, she was. When the girl saw who saved her, her first thought was 'Wow, she is beautiful.' Only then she realized that she was sent away just so she wouldn't feel like she did. But she couldn't help it and she was afraid. Afraid that she was going to be found out again and made to leave again. All that fear couldn't help her shake off the feeling of immediately falling for her saviour.
To make matters 'worse', the girl proved to be her roommate. But all the fear went away when the girl found out she was homosexual to. It was the classic 'boy meets girl, girl falls in love with him, the boy realizes he likes her too, they become a couple' story, just switch the boy with another girl.
The next few months brought nothing but victories for the girl. Even when she dropped unconscious because of a painful flashback and her parents came only to find out she didn't drop homosexuality and disowning her rather than accepting the fact.
All those things that happened had one thing in common. That girl was always next to her, helping her through. The girl thought she's finally living a fairy tale.
Until the girl made a horrible mistake. At the club one night, the girl was looking for someone as help for a friend who was socially awkward and scared to make the first move on anyone. As it turned out, someone found the girl instead and before the girl could properly react, that woman's lips were on hers. She couldn't move away, she was held way too tight. All the time she was thinking about her girlfriend. Please, don't let her see me like this, I don't want this, please, please, please.
But she did. And just like the girl thought, she understood it the wrong way. The girl was inexplicably sad and wanted to explain herself, but it shattered her heart when her girlfriend just wouldn't listen to her. The misunderstanding then culminated in the girlfriend telling her that she doesn't want to see her ever again. And the girl cried.
She cried when she took a shower, she cried when she was brushing her teeth before bed, she cried herself to sleep. She lost the one person that made her feel alive again after a gruesome experience that left her figuratively and literally scarred. All that because of a simple misunderstanding. Then she decided to write her life story and go somewhere she knew she could feel better, somewhere her girlfriend whom she loved more than the world, showed not long after waking up from her unconsciousness.
Ruby, I am immensely sorry for what I did. But believe me or not, I didn't have much choice. Decide for yourself if you want to believe, but every fact in this story is true, to the last word.
I still love you, and only you,
Weiss.
Upon reaching the end of the story, Ruby was in tears, from remorse, pain, broken heart, she didn't know anymore. All she knew was that she needed to find Weiss.
Somewhere her girlfriend whom she loved more than the world, showed not long after waking up… Is she on the hill?
Hardly thinking, she started running towards the outskirts of the town, tears running down her cheeks all the way until she reached the foot of the hill.
She stopped, breathless, trying to regain the ability to breathe before starting to ascend the steps. Every step she made echoed in her mind as a step closer to her attempt at retribution for letting her girlfriend down when she needed her the most. I let down the most broken person I know, and for what? I thought she broke my heart, but it seems that I completely destroyed hers.
Upon reaching the top of the hill, Weiss was sitting on the bench, head in hands, looking at the floor directly below her. Ruby caught her breath again and slowly went towards the girl who was still unaware of her presence. Once she got right behind her, she gently put her hands around her and buried her face in her shoulders.
"I'm so sorry, Weiss, I'm so, so very sorry!"
Weiss jumped at the unexpected touch. Her voice was still slightly broken from crying. "Ruby! Oh my god, you came! Thank heavens. I'm sorry too."
"No, it was all my fault. I should have listened to you, I should have just stopped being angry for a moment and be rational, but all I did was ruin you. I can't emphasise just how horrible I feel right now. I can repeat it a million times but it won't fix it. I'm sorry."
"Ruby, I will forgive you if you promise me one thing."
"Anything!"
Weiss patted the spot on the bench right next to her. Ruby smiled and sat down where Weiss showed her.
"Ruby, all I want from you is to promise that next time something like this happens, though I hope it never has to, that you will listen to what I have to say before making assumptions."
Ruby looked up at Weiss and she could barely believe what she had heard. She threw her arms around her and pressed her tightly against her.
"Yes, Weiss. Yes. I promise."
Ruby then buried her face in Weiss' neck again, inhaling the minty scent that she didn't even know she missed as much as she did.
On the other side, Weiss let out a sigh of relief before filling her nostrils with the rosy perfume of her love, the same perfume that made her feel like all the problems in the world didn't exist. The scent that made her believe that there will always be a happy ending for both of them.
So that's it. Predictable, I know. We'll see where it goes from here.
Thanks for reading! Happy early Valentine's (for the single ones of you, happy Singles Awareness Day)!