Disclaimer: I do not own RWBY or any of its characters.
As she sat in the dark workshop, leaning against the wall next to the window, Ruby dragged her fingers across the velvety cover of the book. The sleek, silver body of the parasol glimmered from its place in the water bath, the strong titanium frame releasing a small cloud of vapor as it cooled off after hours of blazing heat and tedious shaping.
A crack of light seeped in from the small opening in the curtains, her position making it so that she could read the book without squinting or being blinded. Flipping the cover open gingerly, she took in all the little details of the book; such as how some parts of paper were darker than the others. She concluded that some water may have accidentally splattered the book, pushing the information to the back of her mind as she continued flipping through the first few blank pages.
She finally paused in her movements, curiosity filling her as she saw the first page with writing, though it didn't make much sense. 'Neopolitan' she murmured breathlessly, unsure of why the name sent a shiver down her spine. Wrapping the cloak around her even more tightly, the girl squashed the uneasy feeling beginning to form at the pit of her stomach, the room suddenly more suffocating than it had previously been. The next page revealed that it was filled to the brim with writing. The words were decidedly short and stumpy, like a child's. Funnily enough though, a quick glance through the next few pages told Ruby that this was not a book.
But instead, a journal.
Whose it was, she was going to find out.
Taking in a deep breath, Ruby began reading.
They kept me inside again today. I don't know what I did wrong….again. I did everything I promised; not making a sound when those pointy needles stabbed my arm and not wetting myself by accident in the shocky chair.
All I wanted to do was go outside today.
The children's laugh are so loud and cheerful, it makes me feel sad and lonely in my room. But Mommy said that freaks like me can't go out, because I would embarrass them. She said I wasn't strong enough to survive outside so I have to stay here.
But Daddy says that I'll be stronger soon, though. He gave me so many sweets to eat, and when I spread it out on the floor it kinda looks like that thing I read. A rainbow, I think. There are a lot ugly ones here too. I wish Mommy didn't make me eat the ugly sweets. I don't like the brown ones, they taste funny. The pink ones are much sweeter and more delicious. I wish daddy would give me more of those.
I think I'll tell him tomorrow.
Daddy was angry that I didn't eat the brown sweets. He made them poke more needles into me again. It still hurts a lot, and I wish I could clean off some of the blood.
I can hear the children again today. They sound softer today, I wonder what happened? I don't want them to go anywhere yet…I still haven't gone outside. Maybe some of them just went to their room. I wish my room could be as nice as theirs, but I hope Mommy doesn't know what I said about my room.
I don't want to go on the shocky chair today; I still hurt from yesterday's visit. But on the bright side, I got my height measured by uncle today! He said that I'm already a big girl and can go out to play soon. He said that daddy and mommy will be watching me play with the children.
I'm so excited! Mommy also gave me a nice little umbrella today. She said that I can show it off to the kids. Maybe they'll even show me theirs– daddy's coming! I need to hide this before he takes it away. I hope tomorrow will be a good day.
Ruby felt her skin crawl at the ominous shiver that ran down her spine. Despite the child like writing and the slight happy go lucky tone of the first few entries, the mentions of 'needles' and 'shocky chairs' sounded like a pretty sick joke to her.
The last sentence of the entry was slightly smudged, indicating that the writer had been in a hurry to pen it down. Stiffly, she made a movement to turn the page again, but a sudden noise made her jump. Senses alert and body coiled like a spring, she glanced sharply towards the direction of the sound, her hands itching to reach for crescent rose resting on the table beside her. Her eyes fell on the other side of the workshop.
'Heh, it was just a branch…' She giggled weakly, using her free hand to press down a stray cowlick. Trying to calm her frayed nerves, the girl gently sat down the journal on the table before making her way to the water bath where the frame of the parasol was waiting. Slipping on some thick gloves, Ruby grabbed both ends of the cooled metal carefully and lifted it up. Wiping away the excess liquid, she swung the long, cylindrical frame; eliciting sounds when it sliced through the air. "Whoa…" She whistled, impressed. Whatever the ore Jack had provided her with, it was definitely made to last. The body of the parasol felt light, or maybe it was just her; since she was already accustomed to swinging around a gigantic scythe.
Satisfied at her day's work, Ruby put her latest work away, arranging it neatly beside the other components of the Parasol which had been completed. The hardest part would be saved for last as imbuing dust into weapons was an extremely complicated process. She was thankful that Jack would be there to guide her through it, actually, had it not been for her mentor/employer, she would have been oblivious to many useful things.
The three week break would be coming to an end soon, and Ruby felt the reluctance to go back to Beacon gradually creeping up on her like a shadow, its nagging presence sometimes present or not, but never to the point where she was unaware of its existence.
Logically, she was aware of why she felt this way. The hurt of being ignored and then accused was too much of a strain emotionally, thus leading her to explode at her team. It would not be surprising if she hadn't forgiven them yet.
However, Ruby innately knew it went far deeper than that.
Perhaps, her previously naïve and carefree soul had been permanently scarred by ignorance and careless words. She knew that nothing would ever be the same between her, Weiss, Blake and Yang again.
Her mind drifted back to a quote she had come across in the numerous books she had devoured while trying to drown out her loneliness. The words had struck a chord deep inside her, and no matter how much she tried to forget it, she could not. For it was so utterly true, the harshness of the statement leaving a bitter taste in her mouth, and forever imprinting itself in her memory.
Human relationships are like chemical reactions.
Once you have a reaction,
It is impossible to return to your previous state of being.
She dreaded what was to come when she would finally step into that oh so familiar dorm room where she had spent countless lonely nights curled up in her mother's red cloak and rereading her favourite fairy tales.
Ruby huffed, annoyed at herself for delving back into those dark thoughts. 'I-I'll deal with it when it comes.' She told herself, frowning slightly when her inner voice wavered. 'After all, that has always worked.'
Spinning on her heel, the girl walked back to her seat, sinking into it before picking up the journal again. Once more, she ran her fingers over its velvety cover and relished the softness of it. Flipping to the page where she had stopped, Ruby was stunned to see that the next page was blank. Clean as a whistle.
Confusion flowed through her, making her flip the page. And flip. And flip. Until finally…She found one full of writing. Looking closer, why were there red stains on the paper…?
She ran a thumb over it. It had long since dried up, the substance already deeply embedded in the page, whatever it was. Huffing, she began reading once more, not noticing that her source of light was starting to become dimmer and dimmer, the curtains no longer glowing from the excess of sunlight.
It's been two weeks since that day. I can still hear their screams echoing in my ears. Ah their sweet, sweetcriesof help as we play a little. The children aren't that fun to play with after all. They keep crying whenever we play 'doctor'. They're terrible at it, can't even endure one needle when I've had more than six stuck in my arms and legs all at once.
Pathetic.
My umbrella looks so pretty now, the different shades of red giving it a certain look that makes me want to go out and decorate it some more. But mommy said I have to wait till the other children are ready. She says that they need to finish their sweets before we can play together again.
Daddy came to visit me again. He's got more sweets. I don't know why they're only pink and brown ones. I can't make a rainbow with these. Nevermind, I kind of like the brown ones now. It balances out the taste of the sweet pink ones, which is good since Mommy never gives me any water until after we visit uncle.
Ah, I wish that the other children would quickly eat their sweets so we all can play together again.
Ruby felt her eyes widen in horror as the next page went on to describe the 'playing' in minute detail. It wasn't even funny anymore, the writing delving into mentions of torture and the use of primal machinery. The contents made her stomach churn with disgust and horror, but she felt a sense of exhilaration flow through her veins as she carried on reading, unable to tear her eyes away from the sickening descriptions.
Eyes glued to the page, Ruby carried on reading. Even as the sun dipped behind the dark clouds, darkness swallowing everything and drowning the workshop in perpetual darkness, she held the book tightly with shaky fingers, heart palpitating with excitement.
And so, the little red riding hood strayed off the path, lured away by the beautiful flowers on the other side of the forest; never once noticing the eyes of the predator watching her intently, with a salivating mouth and glistening fangs.
Long AN: Yep, as usual I'm late, but I don't think that's surprising. Just letting everyone know that after updating this (short) chapter I'll be taking a short break from fanfic writing. Maybe like 1 week plus or so. I've wanted to catch up on my other hobbies, and I figure that I better do it before school starts and all. But no worry, school starts in April for me so still plenty of time to write other trashy fics.
Some may have noticed that I took away the second pairing that was previously planned for red and pink (Coco and our beloved heiress). The reason for that being that I rather concentrate on the main pairing and not spread myself thin trying to write for another pairing I have no experience in. I'll probably have a one shot for this pairing but I apologize if anyone was looking forward to it.
This chapter took a different turn then what I expected; I was aiming for humor but ended up something else. I'm also figuring out the story as I go along so don't be too harsh on me :3 Also, let me know what you think of the updated summary. I reread the old one and didn't think it really conveyed what was actually happening in the story.
On a side note, 128 Favourites and 189 followers? Holy SHIT I freaking love you guys and want to thank you taking the time to read this. I didn't even dream that something I wrote would be this well received! Er and yes, that awesome quote was from Tokyo ghoul. Letting y'all know that so you can go read the manga, and the ending was partly inspired by Into the woods which i watched yesterday. Great movie.